The Stranger in Me
by Agent08
Summary: COMPLETE. Sakura Kinomoto had been through her own personal hell that nobody knew she was still residing in. Until the arrival of Syaoran Li, her new roommate. He was her own personal heaven. But she'd never admit it. Ever. SyaoranxSakura.
1. Prologue

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. The plot is basically mine and any new characters. That's all. Don't rub it in or I'll ban you from reading my story. HAHA.

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions  
**bold font** - point of view

Now...on with the prologue!

**Prologue**

**Sakura** -

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Just like every other dull morning, my pink alarm clock that I've had since I was in the fourth grade, woke me up. Slowly, but not purposely, I fell out of my bed, the sheets coming with me, landing with a large thud on the floor of my dorm room. I grunted and got on my feet. I did that every morning. I was used to the pain.

I made my way towards the door and wrapped myself in a bathrobe, covering myself completely. I was only wearing a pink tank top and pajama pants until then, but who cared? I was glad I didn't have a roommate. That way I could always walk around the dorm in any clothes I wanted, have music pumped up as loud or as quiet as I wanted it to be, and hear no protests about it at all. Dorm room life was good.

I slipped into the shower, and let the hot water rinse my body of any dirt or tiredness I had that day. When I got out, I wrapped the peach towel around my auburn hair covered head, and the same colour bathrobe around my body. I shaped my hand into a fist and rubbed away the fog that was on the mirror. I took a good, hard look at myself, and noticed nothing wrong. Same emerald green emotionless eyes, same tired skin...Everything was in place.

I got out of the bathroom/shower room when all the girls started piling in, fighting for dear life just so they could get to a shower first. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, making my way bare foot across the hallway back to my dorm. I put on some casual clothes - you know, just the usual navy blue tank top with the royal blue coat, and the faded jeans. I never wore bright colours. Not anymore, at least. After that, I combed my hair until I could run my hands through it, and feel no tangles. Quickly, not wanting to be late for the second time in a row this week, I grabbed my backpack, which I thought had all my materials for class in it, and jogged out of the room.

Instincts lead my way through Seijou College campus. It was quite large, really. I was kind of early, so not very much students were sitting on the many benches, or seated around the big cupid shaped fountain like usual. For the first time in my life, I thought I was actually going to be on time! Anyway, I walked past some early bird students, seated on the green grass. One guy was playing the guitar, and it's nice melody followed me as I walked further and further away. I was disappointed when I couldn't hear the tune anymore, but kept on walking, knowing that I couldn't stay and be late for class again.

As I walked past the few students and the beautiful cupid shaped water fountain that was not yet spurting water, I felt around in my backpack, just incase. I made a mental list in my head, as I checked off all the various things that were supposed to be in there. Science textbook? _Check_. History textbook? _Check_. Day planner? _Check_. Math textbook? _Jeez Louis!_ I can't believe I forgot it. Last night, just as always, I was struggling trying to finish off the last of my damned math homework. Apparently, when I finally did finish it, I forgot to pack the textbook in my backpack.

I swore under my breath, and began sprinting back towards my dorm. I was already so close to my chemistry class! What a shame - I guess I had to be late for yet another stupid class of mine. Maybe I wouldn't? Maybe I'd somehow sprint faster than I've sprinted in my life and magically appear in class, not late, and the teacher not yelling at me for once in my college life. Yeah right.

I sprinted past all the same people, even the guy with the guitar. This time, I was in too much of a hurry to actually stop and listen to the beautiful melody that he was playing. So, I just kept on running. _One foot, the other foot_, I repeated in my head, just incase I suddenly fell. _One foot, the other foot_. I had always loved running when I was in grade school. I still enjoy doing it now. But I guess when you're running in a bad situation; you can't exactly relish all the fun of it, can you?

I was so busy with my stupid one foot, the other foot chant in my head, I didn't even see that brown-haired kid crossing right infront of me. I'll let you take a shot in the dark and try and guess what happened next. If you guessed that I ran straight into him, then - _ding, ding, ding!_ You're right. He didn't even bother to get out of my way, that stupid kid. So, I crashed into him, making a loud _BAM_ kind of noise in the process. I landed flat on my ass, and because I forgot to zip up my bag after I felt for my class materials, everything - well, mostly everything - came flying out. Perfect. Just _perfect_.

I grunted in pain and got on my knees. My first instinct was to beat the crap out of the kid that I ran into, but I had no time for that. I had to gather up all my books and still sprint the rest of the way to my dorm, even though my ass felt like it was on fire. So, as fast as I thought I could, I crouched on all fours and started looking for all my books. I went down that same mental list I made in my head, and only one thing was missing. Where the _hell_ was my stupid day planner?

I got onto my feet, my backpack infront of me, and began to stuff everything back inside. When I did, I looked up, and the first thing I saw was a pair of intense amber eyes. Those eyes were like something I've never seen before in my entire life - you know, until then. I was afraid that I would get lost in them, and waste even more time, but I couldn't. I shook my head vigorously, and ripped my gaze away from his eyes. My idiotic stare suddenly turned into a glare, and I began to see the rest of his body, not just his eyes.

Okay, so on the outside, I looked like I was pretty pissed off, right? Well, I was both pissed off _and_ impressed on the inside. The guy was really big, and no, I don't mean fat, but big! Yeah, sure, he was only wearing a black T-shirt, a red coat over it, and deep blue jeans, but damn! He was good looking. It was as if my eyes had X-ray vision, and I could see right through his clothes. I could just visualize it. His huge six pack, nice and tanned. Just how I like it.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a deep, rich voice came ringing into my head. It was his voice that said, "I'm sorry." All I could do was glare. I must've looked like an idiot, just glaring at him. I knew he thought that I didn't even hear, when he waved a hand infront of me, as if I hadn't heard him at all. "I'm sorry," he repeated, "that was all my fault." and he handed me my leather, peach coloured day planner. At first I looked down at the planner, and then back to him. I did the first thing that came to mind.

I wrenched the day planner out of his grasp, and continued to glare, "Damn straight it's you're fault! Now thanks to you, I'm going to be late for my class!" Okay...So what? I was angry! I didn't mean to! It's just that I was finally early for once, and then he has to go and ruin it by bumping into me, and making me dump all my books onto the ground. Sure, he may have helped me, but I was still really angry. This was going to be the second time this week that Professor Hamilton would yell at me!

Not even bothering to apologize for my rudeness, I brushed past him and continued running to my dorm. I looked back just once, and saw him standing, rooted to the spot, his eyes confused. I did that. I took out the intense feeling in his eyes and replaced it with the confused feelings. I seemed to have that confusing effect on everyone when I was in that stage of my life. But no need to worry, folks. I would get passed it.

When I finally made it into my dorm, I was totally out of breath. My cheeks were red and puffy, and I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. Yes, my chemistry class really is that far from my dorm! Anyway, not wanting to waste anymore time, I plopped my bag and day planner onto my bed, and walked up to my bureau. On it was just the usual - the night lamp, the many books lined closely to each other, the opened binders, and a bag of chips I hadn't finished that night.

Why wasn't my math textbook there? I opened all the drawers that were in my bureau and quickly shuffled through everything, feeling for my textbook. I couldn't find it. And I went through all the damn drawers, too! Except for one certain one. The one on the top left hand corner, the one that had the key to it. It could be in there. You never know until you try it out. I took a deep breath and slipped out some keys from my back pocket, chained together by a Hello Kitty key chain. I held out one particular silver one, and slipped it in the keyhole. I twisted it, and with a _click_, I opened it.

I reached inside, and I shoved my hand in. I felt the soft pink leather of the book, and closed my eyes, savouring its feel. Slowly, I put my other hand in, and brought the pink book up to my face. _Sakura Cards_, it read. My Cards. My beloved Cards. I opened the book, and out fell a single card. The Windy. I bent down to pick it up, and I stare at it for a long time. It took me such a long time to transform all of them - to make them all mine. When I think of what I had to go through, I'd lost so much sleep, energy, made mistakes...Sacrifices.

Before I let my feelings get the best of me, I shook my head and closed the book. I placed it carefully back into the drawer, and started looking for my math textbook once more. It wasn't there, obviously. I continued my search else where, and you'll never guess where I found it. Beside my bed, on the bedside table, lying open beside the lamp. How forgetful could I get?

I quickly picked it up and shoved it in my backpack, along with my day planner. It had the dude's scent all over it. I couldn't help but take a second to smell it. That's when Kero woke up. A single drawer on my bedside table opened up, and out fluttered a grumpy, tired looking stuffed animal. Yes, that was my Kero. He hadn't changed since I first saw him in fourth grade. Still yellow, still small, still has an enormous craving which seemed to grow as the years went by. Same old Kero!

He flew towards my bed, and lay flat on his stomach, "What's for breakfast?" he asked. What a surprise. The first thing he always asked for in the morning was, "What's for breakfast?" and if there was nothing for breakfast, he'd beg and beg for you to whip something up, or he would ask me to use the Sweet Card on him.

I smiled and walked to my bureau. I grabbed the open bag of Lays Original chips and threw them at him, purposely trying to drown him in all it's greasy, salty flavour. I heard him try to resurface from it all, and out from the top of the pile of chips that fell out, his tiny, yellow, baldhead popped up with a single chip stuffed in his mouth. He chewed it, but with a disgusted look on his face, he asked, "Chips?" and he scrunched up his nose like he smelt something awful, "Chips? Sakura, it's in the middle of the morning! If I wanted something greasy, I would've flown to the hamburger place!"

"Shutup and eat," I ordered as I took a seat beside him. I lifted my hand and began to rub his backside, "that's all you're going to have until I come back from my classes, so you better save it before you die of hunger," I warned him, a hint of sarcasm in my voice. In case you hadn't noticed, in that sentence, I said the word that would trigger my panicked side, and at that precise moment, I had jumped off the bed, and began running for dear life to my first class with Professor Hamilton. Does anyone care to guess what the keyword was? If you guessed "class", then you're bang on!

I sprinted quickly, and now that twenty minutes had passed, the campus was filled with buzzing students, either on the lawn trying to finish some leftover homework, some kids trying to waste time before their classes started, or just some people just chatting and having some coffee. I didn't run into anyone else, if you must know, but when I came bursting into my chemistry class with Professor Hamilton, everyone was already in their white blazers, safety goggles, and experimenting with two test tubes that had different chemicals in them.

I swore as quietly as I could, and luckily Professor Hamilton didn't hear me. I grabbed a white blazer that hung on the coat rack just beside me, and walked over to my usual table, where only I sat. Not surprisingly, Professor Hamilton walked over to me, but I ignored him as if he wasn't there, and put on the blazer, safety goggles, and opened up the textbook to our latest unit. It wasn't until he started talking that I finally acknowledged his dull-as-ever presence.

"Miss Kinomoto!" he addressed me, in his weird kind of upset manner, "Late again." When I didn't answer, he began shifting his weight from one foot to the other, and I could tell he was waiting for a reply. I knew that I should've given one earlier, but I loved to see Hamilton squirm. It was probably the only advantage I had over him when I was late, which I guess was pretty okay.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," I said under my breath, as I poured Solution A into Solution B. I smirked when I saw his head snap up, as he plastered on some, "You're in big trouble now, miss!" kind of face. He always pulled that one on me, but honestly, I didn't care. I always got away with talking back to teachers.

"What was that I heard, Miss Kinomoto?" he asked, that stern look still on his face.

All I could do was smirk, and answer, well, not in the politest manner, but it wasn't a rude manner either, "I said I was sorry, Professor Hamilton. I'll try to make it to class earlier next time," I said, with a fake-sweet smile on my face. This dude was so old he would believe anything he heard correctly.

"Right then," he answered. I expected him to leave after that, but he didn't. I was kind of beginning to get uncomfortable as he watched me stir the now mixed Solution with a glass-stirring rod. "I'm afraid I can't let you go on this one, Miss Kinomoto," he said after a slight pause. With that sentence, he totally got my attention. This had to be the first time he was actually doing something about my being late. Now _that_ was a surprise.

"I'm going to have to punish you. No need to worry, though. It's nothing severe...But, we have a new student at this college, and the boy doesn't exactly know where everything is. Now, I'm not asking you to be his best friend, so don't fret, but I would like it if you were polite," he said, in his old grandfather kind of voice. I always liked it when he used that, because if I didn't love my grandpa so much, sometimes I wished that he would be.

"Alright, Sir," I answered, placing the stirring rod carefully inside the beaker, "I'll be as nice to him as possible." I hoped that was a good enough answer. Apparently it wasn't.

"That's not all I'm asking of you," he continued, just as someone knocked on the door. He put on a somewhat sneaky smile, and took hold of my elbow. He lead me to the door, and opened it. Standing before the both of us was the good looking brown-haired kid, with his backpack on his shoulder, and holding a piece of paper infront of him, studying it carefully.

"Room 257?" he asked, with that same rich tone of voice. He looked up from the paper and first saw Professor Hamilton's balding head. Then, he saw me. I wish he hadn't, because he wouldn't stop. All the both of us did was stare, and I wish we would just stop, for heaven's sake. It was getting kind of embarrassing, since it was infront of a teacher.

"Hello, Mr. Li!" Hamilton greeted warmly, holding out a hand for the brown-haired dude to shake, "You are correct. This is room 257. Please, come in. There is much work to be done," and he lead the both of us back to my table, where he began to introduce us. "This is Miss Sakura Kinomoto," he said, gesturing towards me. I gave a weak smile. "Miss Kinomoto, this is Syaoran Li. He just moved here from Hong Kong." I just nodded.

"Quite interesting." I responded, as if I was actually interested, which I wasn't.

Professor Hamilton smiled a gleeful smile, and said, "I know, it is, isn't it?"

After that particular sentence, neither of us spoke. Though usually very talkative, Professor Hamilton didn't say one word. I think he was expecting us to talk to each other, you know, try to make some friendly conversation. But I didn't budge. Even though this Syaoran guy was really good looking and all that, I could tell that the friendship that we would soon have would be a very rocky one, with lots of bumps in the road. So, I decided from then on that I wouldn't talk to him unless necessary.

"Er, now, the both of you," Professor Hamilton finally said, after pausing a full five minutes, "I want you two to look at each other," and although those were probably the weirdest instructions he's ever given me, I did was I was told. Once we did so, he smiled, "Good! Meet your new lab partners." and my jaw just totally dropped.

"What?" I shrieked, as I had told him the very start of the semester that I specifically did not want a lab partner, "But I thought I told you that - "

Professor Hamilton raised a single finger, signalling for me to be quiet, "Nah, ah, ah, Miss Kinomoto. I am not going to tolerate anymore of you tardiness, but, if you take on this request from me, I'm sure I'll be able to handle it, and then I won't have to yell at you as much, and perhaps I won't have to send you to the Dean's office," he basically threatened. Damnit, he got me good.

My mind totally busted, I just grunted and walked to the back of my desk. Angrily, I slammed my elbows onto the desk, and let my hands carry my chin as I watched Solution A sizzle into Solution B to make Solution C. I didn't even bother to talk to the Syaoran guy and welcome him as my partner. It's not like I was even planning to, and plus, I wanted to make it clear that I did not want anyone, namely _him_, to be my lab partner.

The rest of the class went smoothly. Neither Syaoran nor me wanted to spoke to each other. I was glad he understood the assignment, so then I didn't have to explain it to him, and we didn't have to talk at all. However, we did have to start talking a little bit after class. Remember how Professor Hamilton wanted me to be "nice" to him? He made it clear that he wanted me to show him around campus, so he didn't have to. You see, it was kind of like a tradition at Seijou College that if a new student comes, the first professor they have for their class is the one to show them where to go. Except for the freshmen, though. The dean did all that work.

After the first bell rang, telling us with it's loud _RIIIIING_ that it was time to go, I threw off my blazer, my goggles, and dumped Solution C, which was now a bright blue colour, into the sink. It was kind of warm, so I unzipped my coat, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and continued to make my way out of the classroom. When I was out, I waited impatiently for Syaoran to come out. A rush of students pushed past me to get to their next class, and I had to fight off this weird twitching in my hands to shove them off of me and tell them to piss the hell off.

When Syaoran finally made it out of his class, he was wearing his red coat again, backpack over his shoulder, and that same piece of white paper infront of him. I rolled my eyes and quickly grabbed the paper from him, before he could make any objections. His mouth opened, but I gave him "the look" that kind of meant "don't say anything so we can just get this over with", so he shut his mouth.

I quickly scanned the white paper that I was now holding in my hands, and gasped in surprise. This couldn't be right! I had to re-read it another three times before the fact that he had basically the same classes as me actually processed through my head. I gave him an accusing look, and shoved the paper into his chest. His hand was brought up, to keep the paper from falling, and I could tell he was confused.

"Are you stalking me?" I asked, accusation dripping from my voice.

"What?" he replied, probably thinking I was a crazy person, "No!"

I didn't believe him one bit, "No, huh?" I said, beginning to walk to my - our - next class. I heard his footsteps behind me and I could tell he was following either because he thought I was showing him to his next class, or either because he thought I was a crazy lady that shouldn't be allowed to walk around campus. "Then why do you have the same classes as me? I have a best friend that only has two fucking classes with me, and yet you have all but one class without me! Coincidence? I think n - "

" - Probably," he interrupted, grabbing the paper from me, and went through it again. He looked from me to the paper, eyeing me suspiciously. No way. He couldn't possibly think I was lying, right? "What's your second class?" he asked me.

"Math," we both said together. He looked surprised. "What's your fourth class?" he asked me, obviously needing more proof that we had basically all the same classes together.

"Information Technology," we both said again, together. He hesitated before he could speak again, probably thinking in his head what he should say next. He couldn't possibly ask me what other class I had in common with him, because I'm sure I gave him enough evidence. Finally, he said, "Whatever, but I can tell you for sure, I am not stalking you," and he just ended the conversation right then there.

I didn't bother talking to him anymore. I took him to his classes, he followed, (and for some reason I always sat directly infront of him) and that was that. I didn't do anything more, and it was pretty clear that we didn't want to speak to each other. And even though we didn't have the last class together, I still had to take him there, not by choice, but because stupid Professor Hamilton told me to, remember? I left him at the door, and continued down the hallway to my own class, and thanked the heavens that I was finally done showing him around to all of his classes.

When finally the last bell rang, I was relieved to know that I was free to do whatever I wanted now. No showing Syaoran around, no dumb lectures to listen to from the professor's, but I did have a tiny bit of homework. Whatever, I'd work on that later. Besides, it was Friday! Which sane person worked on homework on a Friday night?

As I bolted out of the classroom as fast as I could, a whole bunch of other students came flooding out of their classrooms too, filling the hallways with such noise that I could barely hear anything. I did hear one thing, though. Someone was calling my name. It must've been Tomoyo. When she'd seen me walk into the classroom with Syaoran, all tall and good looking behind me, she instantly thought something was going on. She must've been dying to know all the details.

So, I turned around, a smile on my face, glad to see my best friend only for the third time today. My smile suddenly faltered when I saw who was really calling my name. It was Syaoran. He was looking down at his paper - again - and waving his hand at me. That suddenly gave me the idea to just turn back around, and keep walking. I know it was rude of me, but I didn't really care. I was through with showing this guy around. Plus, he was looking at the paper! How would he know that I saw and ignored him?

He didn't find out that I ignored him, just so you know. But he did end up finding me, not on purpose though. When I made it back to my dorm room, I was utterly shocked to see moving men, loading stuff in and out of my room. I ran into the dorm, and saw that everything was rearranged. My bed and bureau were moved to one side of the room, but my side table was still beside my bed. On the other side of the room, just a few feet away from my stuff, and me was another bed with clean white sheets, another bureau except in a darker mahogany shade, and a bed side table also with a lamp perched on it. What the hell was going on?

In through the door, another man came inside my dorm, with two suitcases. My day was so, totally not going as planned, "What the hell?" I said, grabbing the two suitcases from his hands, "What the hell is going on here? This is my bloody dorm and I want you and all your little friends to get the hell - "

" - Sakura?" someone said. Both the dude and me turned to face the person that spoke. My face faltered once more. Why was he here? What in bloody hell was Syaoran Li, doing in my dorm? This was just way too much. He ruins my day by making me late, makes it worse by being in basically all of my classes, and makes shit even worse for me by...Well, I'd find that out soon.

"Syaoran?" I replied, walking towards him, "What are you and these men doing here?"

"I can tell you, Miss Kinomoto," another voice said. Syaoran and I were surprised to see the Dean, Mr. Raymond, enter my dorm. "This is dorm room 112, correct?" he asked. I nodded my head numbly. "Well then, Miss Kinomoto, Mr. Li, I would like you two to look at each other." I'd heard this line before, and I knew what I was expecting next.

"No way!" I blurted out, not even bother to look at Syaoran, "Dean, you can't be serious! Is Syaoran going to be my roommate?"

"Yes way, Miss Kinomoto. I'm sorry, but I don't think that letting you live here by yourself is inaproppriate. I mean, everyone else has a roommate, why should I not let you have one?" he asked, as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Because I don't want one!" I replied angrily.

"Now, now, Miss Kinomoto. I'm sure you don't mean that. There will be no further discussion on this topic, and if I hear any complaint from either of you...Well, you'll just have to deal with it!" he said smugly, walking out of the room.

Both Syaoran and me stood dumbfounded. Oh, as I was saying: he ruins my day by making me late, makes it worse by being in basically all of my classes, and makes shit even worse for me by being my roommate! Now, I was positive that he was stalking me.

From behind us, another man started talking. "Um, miss? Is this yours?" he asked, holding up...I gasped. Kero! He lay in the man's palm, hard as a rock, a fake smile plastered across his face. I forgot! "I found him in a pile of chips on your bed, miss. I took the liberty of placing the chips back on your bureau, and giving the cute little guy to you,"

"Th - th - thank you!" I stuttered, grabbing Kero, "I'm glad you did so," and I walked towards my bureau, and stuffed him into the drawer he always slept in. I watched as soon as I lay him down, he slowly came back to life, glaring a whole through my body. I mouthed an apology to him, as I placed a chip or two inside with him so he wouldn't be angry, and slowly slid the drawer closed.

I looked back at Syaoran. He was smiling stupidly, obviously not knowing what to do.

"Hey, roomie?" he said. I could tell that, that was the only thing he had in mind to say.

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**Read and or review, s'il vous plait :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent xD_


	2. The Joys of Car Trouble

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: I own my own bed, a teddy, a home, an e-mail...Hm, did I forget to mention the plot and that's it? LOL. I don't own any of the characters, that all sadly belongs to CLAMP.

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions  
**bold font** - point of view

Now...on with chapter two!

**The Joys of Car Trouble**

**Syaoran -**

I woke up at 5:30 in the morning after spending my first night here in Japan with that weird girl Sakura. I felt odd at first, and no, not because I was sharing a dorm with a psycho, but because I wasn't used to this "habitat" yet. Japan was so different from China. Can you believe that when I first took a good look at my situation, I immediately felt homesick? Hell, I even missed my boy-crazy sisters! In fact, I half expected to see them walking behind me, giggling, as I made my way to the showers.

Of course, no one was awake when I was. I stepped out of the shower when I finally finished and wrapped the towel around my waist. I walked out, and began walking towards the dorm. As I did, I began to think of how I felt living with Sakura for the next few years. When I first met her, she'd been so angry and cold towards me. I figured that, that was normal because just as she said, I'd made her late for her class. But afterwards, when I became her lab partner and she started showing me around, she was still angry and cold towards me. I guess I shouldn't take it personally, because every person she spoke to, besides her friends like that camera freak, Tomoyo, she was always rude to.

Besides her rude attitude, I noticed something strange in her. It was quite odd, really. When I first saw her before she started cussing at me, I got the impression that she was a kind of cheerful person, always saying her pleases and thank you's, and always accepting people's apologies. She certainly looked the part to be that type of person. As mean as she may be, I have to say, she's really attractive. I mean, with her shoulder length auburn hair, and those captivating emerald green eyes, who wouldn't think that?

I stepped into the dorm only to see that Sakura was still asleep. Of course she was still asleep, it was only 5:45am! I highly doubt that she woke up that early in the morning, especially on a weekend. I do, obviously, but not just for any other reason. Back in China, I'd do what most people call torture, but the elders, my mother and I would always call it training. What is training, you may ask? Training is anything having to do with punching, kicking, fencing, or sweating. Fencing was probably my most favourite thing to do out of all of those. I'm good with my hands; therefore I'm good with swords.

Since I entered the sixth grade, and my mother got the word from the elders that the Clow Cards were sealed and tamed, my training hours were doubled. I would hear from both my mother and the elders complaining about how I should've been the one to do that. How I should've been the one to be Master of the Clow Cards, and how I should've beat whoever it was that sealed them. Sure, the training was harder since then, but it made me stronger both mentally and physically. I thank my mother and the elders for that, but not the person that sealed the cards. I hated him...Or her.

When I got some boxer shorts and sweat pants on, I grabbed my gym bag from the side of my bed. In it were some boxing gloves, fencing garments, and of course, swords. I didn't usually use the boxing gloves because I usually trained without them, but I brought them just incase I felt like doing a little one, two punch. Like I said, usually I didn't, but you never know when you suddenly feel like you need to knock someone's teeth out.

I walked out of our dorm building and onto our large, grassy campus. Just like the other day, my attention was immediately taken from the cloudless grey sky, to the beautiful cupid shaped fountain, the water still not coming out from the tip of the arrow. I saw it in action just the other day, when I was walking back from all my classes. Sakura had just blown me off, and I was really confused as to where my dorm was. I stumbled upon the fountain, and believe it or not, it kind of helped me find my way there. I just followed where the arrow was pointing, a little east from where I was then, and I just kept walking that way. Weird, huh?

I seated myself onto a green, grassy part of the field, and began unpacking my stuff. Well, just my sword, but whatever. I took off my grey sweater, to reveal my tanned chest. Most people would say that I had a six pack, but since you probably don't know me very well, I'll take the time to tell you that I'm quite modest, and don't usually agree to all the comments I hear about myself. And being the heir to the Li Clan, believe me when I say that I hear lots of them. Surprisingly, though I've heard them since I was able to understand what people were saying about me, I haven't blushed once!

I trained hard. After thirty minutes of swinging my sword here and there, plunging it into the thick breeze, jumping up and down, and adding in a little, "_HIYAAA_!" just to emphasize my actions, I still wasn't tired. After a full forty-five minutes of using my sword, I began doing some punches and all that. My brown bangs disturbed my vision as I thrusted an arm forward, my hand formed into a fist. Back and forth, back and forth, a kick here, a kick there. Just the usual.

Finally, after an hour, I felt my first bead of sweat, rolling down my forehead for the day. I wiped it off, and was about to start training again, but another early bird came out from the building. The girl giggled as she walked past me, her hand covering her pink painted lips. Ugh. I supposed that most people would be up, just like her, so I re-packed my stuff, put my sweater back on, and headed back for the dorm. I'd have to face Sakura one time or another.

I entered the dorm, only to find Sakura's bed, neatly made, without her in it. A pile of clothes lay at the foot of her bed, which probably meant that she went out somewhere, too. I got the sudden vibe that I wasn't the only person living in this dorm that didn't like it. I knew Sakura was trying to avoid me. But why? I hadn't done anything wrong besides make her late for her class, which she knows was nothing but an accident. At that moment, I began to wonder why Sakura was the way she was.

Like I said, she has beautiful green eyes, you know? Emerald, even. But they're emotionless. They don't show that sparkle and pizzazz that a whole bunch of other people and I see. And her skin. Her skin is so smooth. I remembered how they felt when I bumped into her, when I tried to break her fall (look how _that_ turned out). But I can tell that it's tired. She's not one to go out partying every night, but there's something wrong with her skin. Not it's colour, and not its touch...Maybe it's the cold glow that surrounds her whenever I seem to go near her.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Sakura -**

Sweat poured down my face as I tried to keep up with the tread mill. It was like this every Saturday. Tomoyo would call me on my cell phone, I would call back. She'd suggest something to do over our dull weekend, and I'd say it was stupid and boring. She'd call back again with another great idea, and it usually had something to do with me dressed in her latest designs. She'd beg, and beg until I finally agreed, and because she's my best friend, I always did agree.

I was currently testing her latest sports bra and track pants. Yeah, some of you may think that when I say "me dressed in her latest designs," you probably think that I mean in some fancy dress or casual outfit that did not clash with my hair. Of course Tomoyo designed clothes like that, it's what she'd been doing for the past nine years! But ever since we entered college, she'd wanted to try different things. When I say different things, I mean that she didn't want to do just fancy dresses or anything like that. She would try under clothing.

So there I was, dressed in a sports bra and track pants, testing how much sweat they could handle. My track pants seemed to be doing fine since I wasn't really doing any leg exercises, but my sports bra was suffering. A dark circle of sweat began to form at the base of the bra, and I tried to tell Tomoyo that, that was it, but she would not budge. She just simply shook her head, and smiled at me with the clipboard firmly attached to her hand, the pen slightly raised and poised over the paper, which I know she wasn't taking any notes on, but just doodling about her latest boyfriend. She just wanted to look smart.

Her boyfriend, Eriol, had met her at a party last fall, and the two made an instant connection. I don't know what it was, but I was really glad for her when I found out. Well, not at first. Actually, when I first found out about him, I'd just rolled my eyes and told her to save her time and dump him before she got in too deep. I only started being happy for her when she told me that this Eriol dude wasn't just any other guy, but a really special one. Both me and her knew he would be with her for a very long time.

When finally I stopped running on the treadmill, It was late into the afternoon. I congratulated myself on ignoring Syaoran for as much as I could. I was glad to see that he wasn't in bed when I woke up that day. I wasn't really ready to face him, I wasn't so sure on what to say. Would I just say a standard kind of greeting like, "Hey," or, "What's up?" No. That was too casual. After the other day, when I'd cussed at him, I felt like casual would be too fake. So, I decided that I would let him do all the talking, while I just waited for him to do so. Not the brightest idea, but at least it was a start.

I got changed into another sports bra (thank God Tomoyo brought extra), and into another pair of track pants. I put on my sweater and zipped it up, just so you could see the start of the sports bra. It wasn't really revealing, but the weather was kind of hot. You can't blame me. Anyway, I said my goodbyes to Tomoyo, as she started another text love conversation to Eriol. Did I forget to mention he was on a trip in Thailand? He's apart of this club thing that goes to places and helps build houses for homeless people in different places. He'd be gone for at least a month, and Tomoyo was really disappointed, but she knew it was for a good cause.

I hopped in to my black convertible and placed my key into the ignition. I prayed that my car could be able to start and get me all the way back to my dorm. It took me such a long time to get it running that morning, that I was late to the gym. Tomoyo got mad at me for about a second, and assured me that nothing was wrong with my car. I hope she was right.

The engine started, but my car wouldn't start. I growled in frustration and tried again. My car hithered a few times, but in time, I got it to run. I kissed the dashboard, showing the car my appreciation, and made my way out of the parking lot, out on the street. With one hand on the steering wheel, the other turning the radio dial, trying to look for a good song to listen to, I was on my way back to the dorm...Or at least I thought.

Just halfway back to my dorm, my car started to cough. I growled in frustration and pulled out of the highway onto an empty dirt road, knowing that I could probably try and fix whatever what was wrong in peace. I barely made it there because the longer it took me drive there, the more it coughed and spluttered. By the time I got it parked on the side of the road, smoke started steaming out of the hood, clouding my nose and filling it with a disgusting smell.

I hopped out of the car and lifted the hood. Something was wrong with the engine. I reached my hand out to try and see what was wrong with it, when a burning sensation filled the tips of my first four fingers on my left hand.

"Ah!" I yelped, automatically bringing my hand back to my side, and sucking on it. "Damned car,"

I walked to the back of the car to try and see what I had in the trunk. All I had was a spare tire and a tool box. I knew it was pointless, though, because I didn't need a spare tire, and I had no idea in hell how to use anything in the toolbox. Maybe my situation wouldn't be so pointless if I had someone that knew how to use all the stuff in the toolbox.

I pulled out my cell phone and dialled Tomoyo's number as fast as I could. No one picked up. It just kept on ringing and ringing. So, all the options that I had in my head were useless. Except for one. I knew what I had to do.

I took off my sweater and wrapped it around my waist, so half of my belly was showing, and my sports bra too. I took out a bandana, lip-gloss, and a pack of gum from my bag. I put the bandana on, checking in the rear view mirror to see if my hair looked nice, spread the pink lip gloss across my pale lips, and popped a piece of gum into my mouth. And...As much as I hate to admit it...I held out my arm, my hand shaped into a fist. Slowly, and unwillingly, I began chewing my gum and...Stuck up my thumb.

Yes, it's true. At that moment, I turned to hitch hiking.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran -**

I wasn't used to my surroundings yet, here in Japan, so I decided to take a drive to try and get familiar with everything. A great idea _that_ turned out to be. I squinted my eyes together to try and see where I was. All I could see were the brightly lit up malls and shops, and the hundreds of people walking on the street. Where in the hell was I?

_**xxxxxx**_

**Sakura -**

A few cars drove by and I'm surprised that none of them stopped. Well, not really, actually. The people in the cars were women, and I highly doubt that they were very interested in me. I sighed as I brought my arm, which had been held out for the past fifteen minutes, down to my side. How in the hell was I supposed to get home?

I guess my luck kind of changed when I heard the crunching of tires onto the gravel. Quickly, I held my arm out once more and stuck my thumb out. At the distance I was at, I could tell that the person driving the car was a man, so I prayed that I was looking more attractive then ever had as I popped the gum over and over again.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran -**

I drove my car out onto some dirt road, hoping I could just park my car and retrace my tire wheels from there. But as I drove further along, I noticed I wouldn't be the only person. I brought my eyes together and held my head forward, trying to catch a glimpse of the hot hitch hiker trying to catch a ride from me. She looked familiar, and the minute I got close enough to look into her eyes, I knew instantly that it was Sakura.

Slowly and carefully, I pulled up beside Sakura. From the look of it, her car was obviously broken in some way, and she needed a ride badly. I thought that maybe I could be of some service, and if I fixed her car, then maybe we could possibly build some sort of friendship. Afterall, we _are_ roommates. It'd be uncomfortable if you weren't friends with your own roommate.

Sakura smiled as she began walking towards my car. I rolled down my window and was about to say the speech inside my head. Just ask her what happened, if she needs any help, and if she wants a ride back to the dorm with me. "Sakura!" I blurted. I guess things didn't go as well as I planned.

Her smile faltered as her jaw basically dropped to the floor, and her eyes widened in the shape of large, round coins. "Syaoran?" she said, her voice disbelieving, "What...What the hell are you doing here?"

I jumped out of my car and began walking towards her, "I could ask you the same thing!" and I paused briefly when she didn't answer, not knowing what to say next. "Well...What the hell are you doing here?"

"For your information," she began coldly, her eyes piercing through my body, "I need a ride back to the dorm. My car went all messed up on my ass, and I have no idea how to fix it. There. Does that answer your question?"

"Well..." I said, walking to the back of her car. Her trunk was open, so I decided to rummage through it a bit. I fished out her toolbox and brought it to the front, dropping it with a loud thud, "Partly." I opened the lid of the box and started looking for some pliers, or whatever I needed to fix her car. Which reminded me, I didn't even know what was wrong with it yet.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sakura asked when she saw me prodding and poking at the engine of her car. It was warm, and I could tell that it was really hot before. "Well?" Sakura asked once more, obviously getting impatient with both me and her car, "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I snapped, annoyed that she was getting angry with me when I was only trying to help, "I'm trying to fix your car! And I'd do it a lot faster if you would just shut your big mouth so I can fix whatever needs to be fixed in peace!"

Both Sakura and I stood dumbfounded at my words. I didn't mean to blow my top off like that, but she was being such a bitch.

"Oh no," Sakura said, grabbing the pliers I found from my hands and chucking them back into the box, "Oh no, no, no! I am _not_ getting any help from you! That is the _very_ last thing I want right now you rude prick! Who do you think you are, just coming out of nowhere and trying to fix my car anyway? If I wanted your help, I would've asked you, and have I? No! I haven't! So just mind your own business, okay?"

"Well excuse me for trying to be a nice person!" I shot back.

"You're excused!" she replied.

We both stood, silent. Neither of us spoke, not knowing whether we were still arguing, or I should just leave. I took a stab and just did the first thing that came to my mind. I sighed and ruffled my hand through my hair, and taking a glance directly into Sakura's eyes. "Are you sure that's what you want?" I asked.

"What?" Sakura answered.

I sighed again, "Are you sure you don't need a ride back to the dorm? Because if you need any help, or a ride or anything like that...I really don't mind lending you a hand." There. I had said it. I was glad, because the tension between us wasn't as strong. I could tell we were getting somewhere. "Well?" I asked, when she didn't reply.

"Well..." she said hesitantly, looking at me, back to her broken car, "I could use a little help..."

I eyed her carefully, as if coaxing her to ask for my help.

"Well, then, I guess you could help me,"

_**xxxxxx**_

It took me a while to see what was wrong with Sakura's car. I'm not exactly an expert on this kind of stuff, but I can tell that Sakura's engine had a few wires crossed on it. When I told her I couldn't do anymore, seeing as how I'm not a grand master at this, she called for someone to tow it back to their garage, leaving just her, my car, and me.

"So...Do you want to head home?" I asked, walking towards my car.

"I guess so," she answered, getting into the passenger's seat. She slid onto the leather seat and squirmed in her spot. I could tell she was uncomfortable, but why? Now what had I done? I surely didn't know, so I just ignored whatever was wrong, and started the engine. With a gust of gas steaming out from the back, we were on our way, heading back onto the highway.

Neither of us spoke as I drove. I kept my eyes on the road, both hands planted firmly on each side of the steering wheel. Sakura wouldn't look at anything else except for the scenery outside, and to top it all off, everything was disturbingly silent. I only figured out a few minutes into my driving that I could solve our silence problem. I looked into Sakura's direction and she had now changed from looking outside the window, to her lap.

"Do you want to listen to the radio?" I asked.

Her head snapped up, her eyes catching mine in an odd staring kind of contest, "What?"

"You can listen to the radio if you want," I answered, "I really don't care,"

Sakura hesitated a bit, but slowly, her hand started reaching up towards the radio dial. I could tell that she wasn't the only one uncomfortable with the silence. So, she turned the dial back and forth, looking for a decent song. When she found one, she kept it there until it ended, which I'm disappointed that it did. I hoped another song would come along soon so we wouldn't have that same silence between us again.

The commercials and ads on the radio kind of filled up that silent space, but then a tune started playing on the radio, and I instantly shut my eyes, as if in pain. From beside me, I heard a kind of hissing noise, and I knew that Sakura had just gone, "Yessssss!" I rolled my eyes, forgetting whatever it was that was keeping us from talking to each other, and turned to face her, "How can you like this song?"

Sakura turned to me, a smile on her face, "How can you _not_? It's so good!"

"As if! I mean, come on, _Night Gazers_? How can you like Night Gazer songs? From where I come from, everyone hates Night Gazer. Seriously, all they really are are a bunch of trashy rockers. Did you see the pictures of the last hotel they stayed at? Complete, total, _utter_ disaster there!"

"The people from where you come from must be totally stupid because Night Gazer is awesome! Their lyrics are so deep, I mean, everyone can relate to them. How can you not see that? Are you blind or something?"

I smiled. No, we weren't getting into an argument...More of a debate. Besides, we were both smiling. Who smiles when they're arguing? "How can you say that their lyrics are deep? Not everyone in this world has _'a monster living inside them, waiting to take over any minute_'. Seriously! Who can relate to that?"

Sakura kept silent. What did I do? "Sakura?" I said, waving my hand infront of her face, "Sakura! What's the matter?"

"Nothing," she finally answered, pulling open the car door on her side, making me stop the car abruptly. A car behind us honked, but I ignored whoever it was.

"What are you doing?" I said, slowly following her with the car as she walked along the sidewalk, "I thought I was going to take you back. If you think it's a problem for me it's not. Really, I don't mind driving you back - !"

"No," Sakura interrupted, picking up speed, me following suit, "It's okay. I can walk from here. Besides, we're like five minutes away from there anyway. I'm fine, really,"

I hesitated. The car behind us honked again, snapping me back to reality, "...Fine. Only because you say so. I'll see you later, okay?"

Sakura nodded and waved. "And thank you!" she called. As I drove further away from her tiny figure, I realized that, that was why she was so squirmy in my car. It was kind of obvious that Sakura wasn't really one to thank people for things, and so she was just trying to think of what to say to me. I don't know why that was so hard, though. They're just a simple two words.

I smiled driving back to the dorm. Sakura and I had really gotten somewhere that day. It wasn't exactly a friendship we had, but it was definitely a start. Not the greatest start to a friendship, but, it was a rocky one. But after every rocky hill there's always a smooth one...Right?

**- **

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Be kind, please? Read and Review:)

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent xD!_


	3. It's Just You and Me

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions  
**bold font** - point of view

**It's Just You and Me**

**Sakura -**

That little...Argh! If Tomoyo wasn't my best friend, I probably would've been calling her a whole bunch of swear words and mean names that day. The thing is, she is my best friend, so calling her a...Well, a you-know-what is totally out of bounds. But calling her out for what she did would've made me feel a lot better.

So what did my oh-so-beloved best friend do to me, you may ask? She left me - _alone_ - to spend the rest of the damn week with my not-yet-used-to roommate, meaning what exactly? Meaning that my week would be filled with no fun, no friends, and no hanging out. Oh, but a lot of classes and tension you could cut with a knife, though. What fun.

Obviously, though, I forgave her. The reason she was leaving was for the better, and I wished her all the best when she went to that place in Canada. It was during that weekend that some lady started looking at the same dress as Tomoyo. The two got into some deep conversation, and Tomoyo told her everything - how she loved to design dresses like this, and how she'd do a much better job, however. And how could I forget - she also began criticizing the dress like it had done her wrong. She always did that to dresses or outfits she didn't design.

Before I get off topic, the lady said that she loved Tomoyo's input on the dress, and by hearing all of what she had to say, she learned that she had a very, _very_ good understanding of this kind of stuff. So, she offered her a job interview in Canada, and of course, Tomoyo wouldn't work there if she got the job. It's just that the interview was there, but the company is here. Isn't that weird?

When I said my goodbyes to her, and watched her plane take off, I took the bus back to the dorm, just like how I took it to the airport. Yes, you guessed it. My car was still screwed up, meaning I had absolutely no type of transportation at all, except for the bus of course. Luckily, I didn't get out much, meaning I didn't have to waste money going to different places. I hoped that my car would be fixed soon, because a large, trashy bus with hobos on it wasn't exactly my idea of an appropriate ride.

As soon as I came back to the dorm, I checked up on Kero. He'd been hiding for the past week in that stuffy drawer, and I have to say that I felt kind of bad for him. Thankfully, him and the Cards have been laying low, ever since the night I told them that Syaoran was going to be living with us. Syaoran had gone for a bathroom break so that's when I took the chance to tell them to keep their auras to themselves. You never know if Syaoran's the kind of person to sense those kinds of things.

"Hey," I greeted Kero, who was now lying on the bed. Syaoran was out for some afternoon jog - something I'd gotten used to after being his roommate for a week - so I always took Kero out when he did. "I sneaked you some potato chips and an energy bar from the airport. You better not eat a lot of it. That's all you're going to be having for a while, seeing as how that Syaoran dude won't get the message that I don't want a flipping roommate."

Kero ripped open the bag of chips, and took in a few mouthfuls of them. So much for not eating a lot. With some chips still crowded in the corner of his cheeks, he swallowed what he could, and said, "Yeah, yeah. Will you stop complaining already? It's almost even more annoying then having to stay in that Godforsaken drawer. Do you know how much air I get in that thing? You're lucky I haven't suffocated."

I snorted. "I'm sorry," I said, not meaning it one bit, "But think about it, Kero. You slept in a flipping book for only God knows how many decades. I think you can handle living in a drawer for four years. Hell, it'll be a breeze, so don't be such a whiner, you whiner!"

While Kero was in the middle of another insult, I heard the door open with a click. My eyes immediately darted towards Kero, and he looked angry. I put on some puppy dog eyes, and reluctantly, he began to fly back towards the drawer. Idiot of a beast! Didn't he realize he wouldn't make it to the drawer in time? As fast as I could, I came up beside him, ready to scold him, until I heard Syaoran's voice.

"Hey - " he began, stopping halfway into his sentence. Quickly, I grabbed Kero by his stomach, and I felt him go as stiff as a board in my hand. I held him behind my back, and plastered on a fake, forced smile. "What's behind your back?" Syaoran asked, tilting his head to try and see what I was holding.

"What? I'm not holding anything behind my back," I answered, pretending not to know what he was talking about."

"Yes you are. Let me see it." He coaxed, walking towards me. Man, he sure was curious.

I began to walk backwards, wanting to keep Kero a secret for just a little longer. "It's nothing!" I repeated over and over again, hoping Syaoran would just leave it alone. He didn't. He just kept on walking towards me, wanting to know what was in my hand. My mouth began to twitch and it took me most of my strength to not cuss at him and tell him that he better back up off of me before I went all Card Mistress on his ass. I suddenly felt my back hit the wall. I had no choice but to show him.

"Alright, alright!" I said, holding my free hand infront of him, signalling for him to stop. When he backed away just a little bit and I felt like I had enough personal space, I held out Kero for him to see. Just for a tiny second, Kero and my eye's locked, and I could tell he was confused as to what was going on. I simply shook my head, hoping he'd understand that I was trying to tell him to just stay solid.

"It's just my stuffed animal," I began, as I held Kero up infront of his face. I realized at that moment that Kero was really good at acting like a stuffed animal. He had a lot of practice when my freakishly over protective older brother kept on walking in on me when I'd be talking to him when I was younger. "I was just putting him back inside my desk drawer." I finished.

Syaoran looked up to make contact with my eyes, and stared at me and Kero for a long time. "That's weird..." he said, eyeing Kero suspiciously, "for a minute I thought he was...Kind of like, in the air." and I did not reply. I left him alone with his thoughts, knowing he would just shrug the thought of Kero flying off, as if he had never seen it. And, just like I predicted, he shook his head vigorously, and just smiled at me. However, what I didn't expect him to do was grab Kero from my hand, and hold him high up in the air to get a good look at him.

"Hey!" I said, reaching my arm out for Kero. Syaoran swerved sideways, and began to rub at Kero's cheeks. "Give him back!" I ordered, forcing myself onto him to get Kero back. I could tell that he was getting very impatient. "He's...He's very fragile!"

"Fragile?" Syaoran replied, holding him up at arms length, "This little guy? No way. Why would you want to put him into your desk drawer, anyway? So he can get all old and dusty? I don't think so. Actually, I think he'd look really cute on my bed, you know? For like, decoration." and he turned his back as he walked towards his bed, just as I lunged forward once more, and ended flat on my ass.

"Give him _back_!" I yelled once more, but with no avail. I watched on the floor as Syaoran placed Kero cutely at the center of his bed, and slid his hands over the bed sheets to rid itself of any wrinkles. He walked towards the foot of the bed, where I was lying, and put his hands on his hips. He smiled with mock-satisfaction.

"Perfect," he said, simply to annoy me.

"You jerk!" I screamed, as I got onto my feet and punched him in the arm. Syaoran's face cringed in pain, and I watched as he slowly bent down so that he was almost on his knees, and held his arm in pain. Had I really punched him that hard? Ouch. I didn't mean to. But not even bothering to help him up, I took the chance I was given and grabbed Kero from his spot on Syaoran's bed. He gave me a "you owe me!" kind of look, but I ignored it.

"Are you okay?" I asked, half caring about Syaoran's arm.

"Gosh," Syaoran replied, rubbing his arm which was obviously still in pain, "I didn't know you'd get so upset. I was only kidding around. God."

"Well you shouldn't have stole Kero in the first place! He's really fragile like I said, but no, you didn't bother to listen to me, did you?" I answered, helping Syaoran up to his feet. He lifted up the sleeve of his shirt, only to reveal a large bruise that I had given him just then. He shook his head miserably, and gave me a disapproving look with his amber-like eyes.

"...You named your stuffed animal?" he asked with a smile, as if not even hearing my previous sentence.

I smiled too, knowing that we were back to joking around. "Ugh, you jerk!" I replied, punching him in the other arm without even knowing it. Just like before, he sank to his knees in pain, now both arms criss-crossed against each other, holding the opposite arm. I gasped in surprise of what I had done, and by accident once more, I squeezed the arm that I had just punched just a little harder than I intended, and he gasped in pain.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so clumsy I just - " and at that moment, Syaoran's amber eyes which were filled with pain and shock, suddenly changed into a happy kind of mood. I looked at his entire face, and saw the corners of his mouth slowly raise up into a smile. I figured out at that certain moment that Kero wasn't the only good actor living in this dorm.

"You _creep_!" I yelled, hitting him playfully on the arm that wasn't injured, "Don't do that! I have enough guilt after punching you in the arm the first time!"

Syaoran waved my sentence away with a flick of his hand, "Oh, no worries, it doesn't even hurt that much anyway. Although..." he dragged on, looking at the large, purple bruise on his arm, "A bag of ice would be nice." he finished sarcastically, looking at me directly in the eye.

"Oh - Oh shit! Um, yeah, just - just wait one second, okay? I'll be back in a flash," I stuttered idiotically, as I made a sprinting start towards the only medical room in this building, but, just incase, I turned back again, "Just wait!" I called, as I started running.

Just halfway to the medical room, I halted to a stop, my heart beating a little faster than it should have been after using so much of my energy. Why was I acting like that? Gosh, I hardly ever looked like a stuttering idiot infront of anyone besides Tomoyo. Does this make Syaoran an exception? From that moment on I knew there was something fishy about my new roommate. But I soon forgot about that thought as I remembered his injury. I began to sprint again, farther and farther away from Syaoran, knowing I'd only be back again.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran -**

Yesterday was kind of weird. For the past two weeks I've been living with Sakura, I've never seen her stutter like an idiot before.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of Sakura's pink alarm clock. With a grunt, I sat up in my bed and looked over to Sakura's side of the room. All I saw was a crumpled body beneath a heap of blankets, and an auburn head, making weird grunting noises. It was obvious Sakura was trying to avoid the alarm clock as best she could.

I ran my hand through my unruly brown hair, and rubbed my face. I got up from the bed and walked over to Sakura's side of the dorm to shut off her pink alarm clock. I picked it up quietly, so not to wake up Sakura, and turned the tiny clock over in my hand. There was no button to push or a switch to flip to make the damn thing shut up.

I analyzed it more for a few minutes until suddenly, a skinny, pale arm reached out from beneath the blanket. Sakura's hand began to shuffle around her side table, obviously trying to find the clock. Slowly, I placed it back on the table, and waited until Sakura's hand had found it. When she got it fully in her grasp, she began to smack it down onto the table, her head still underneath the covers, until it finally stopped beeping. Hmm. So that's how you shut it up.

In just under twenty minutes, I made my way to the showers, spent fifteen minutes there, and went back to the dorm, once again not finding Sakura there. I changed into some clothes in the next five minutes, and soon I was on my out to the library to do some research.

As I slipped on my jacket, I grabbed my car keys from the table and held them lightly in my palm. At that moment, the door to our dorm opened and Sakura stepped in, gym bag hanging over one shoulder, and sexy black shades covering her eyes. I looked her up and down and smiled. She looked really nice. It looked like she was going to the gym, but how? She didn't have a ride.

"Hey," I began, my curiosity rising, "Where are you - "

In one swift movement, she bumped my palm upwards with her hand, making my car keys fly up into the air, and before I could even react, she caught them. As I was about to protest, she took my hand in hers and lead me out of the dorm building, out onto the parking lot. She threw me the keys of my car and forced me to open the doors.

She slid in quietly, and with her eyes cast forward she said, "I need a ride to the gym."

I arched an eyebrow. "And that's my problem...how?"

Sakura sighed deeply, and slid her shades upwards to reveal her mesmerizing emerald eyes. "Listen, I'm sorry I punched you the other day, but here's the whole idea: If you take me to the gym today, I won't need to punch you because I'll be spending my entire day punching a boxing bag or a speed bag! Get the point?" she asked hurriedly.

"No, not really," I replied as I shook my head slowly.

She sighed once more, and said, "Okay, just give me a ride to the gym, please? I'm gaining weight like a cow." she finished, holding her stomach. In her seat, I studied her entire body. From the moment I met her, she had given me an impression that kind of meant she was astonishingly beautiful, but she didn't even know it. She had curves in all the right spots, and what more, her breas - I won't get carried away.

"You?" I asked disbelievingly, "Gaining weight like a cow? I don't believe that for a second. Come on, you're beautifu - " and I immediately stopped dead in my sentence, realizing what I was just about to say. I felt like such an idiot when I look back on it. Sakura was staring at me intently, wanting to know what the hell I was actually going to say, and I was staring back like an idiot, drool probably sliding from my mouth.

"What?" Sakura asked, with the blink of both her eyes.

"Um...Nothing. Just...Get strapped up and I'll drive you to the stupid gym. You need a ride back, right?" I asked as Sakura nodded, "Alright, well, you owe me one. My History assignment isn't going to do itself, you know?" I finished, as I started the car. I turned my head, and began to back away from my parking spot.

"I am not doing your History homework!" Sakura exclaimed as we got onto the road, "I haven't finished mine either."

"Don't be stupid. I know that you have your own homework to do, you're just going to help me find information for the assignment, because thanks to you, I don't have any time to go to the library." I explained.

Sakura slid her black shades back onto her face, and kept her eyes forward. "Hmm. Whatever."

_**xxxxxx**_

Thirty minutes. That's how long it took for me to get impatient with Sakura, and start working out myself. As I took off my sweater to reveal my white muscle shirt, I was surprised to see that Sakura hadn't broken a sweat yet. When I looked around the room, most women her age and older looked like fountains, but not Sakura. She must've had lots of training like me.

I walked onto the treadmill beside Sakura and placed the settings to a slow yet fast kind of pace. The same one Sakura was on. She turned her head to look at me, and our eyes made contact. I smiled, and she simply arched an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" she asked, punching a few buttons to slow the pace down. I followed suit.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I replied.

"It looks like your being an idiot by working out in perfectly good clothes that you'll easily ruin." she answered.

"Correct."

"Why?"

"I got bored," I said with a shrug of my shoulders, "Besides, I don't mind getting hot and sweaty every once in a while." I finished as I winked my left eye. Sakura rolled her eyes and I suddenly realized my mistake. I hoped she didn't think that I was...Hitting on her or something. I quickly tried to make a cover, "I...I mean, I don't really - "

"Hey, Kinomoto," someone rudely interrupted. Both my head and Sakura's twisted around awkwardly to see who was addressing her. Just a few feet away stood a large, buff guy. He seemed to be my age, and what more; he seemed to have the same physique as me also.

Although, there were lots of differences about us. One, he had a mahogany hair colour, and mine? Well...I like to think of it as a chocolate kind of colour. This guy had dark hazel eyes, which reminded me of the scales on a snake. He had a fake tan, and a fake smile, too. I could tell that I wasn't going to like whoever he was.

"Hello, Duncan," Sakura answered in monotone, her gaze cast forward. It seemed as though she was trying quite hard to avoid the man named Duncan, whoever he may be. Then I suddenly remembered that I'd seen him around school. He was in one or two of my classes, but I'd never actually taken the time to look or speak directly to him.

"Hey," he said once more, only this time looking in my direction. I nodded to him with a smile, wanting to focus on my work out. "You're the new kid, right? You're in my Info Tech. class. Yeah, I've seen you around."

I simply nodded, not knowing how to reply to that.

"Is there something you need, Duncan?" Sakura butted in, now acting as if she'd been thoroughly annoyed when this Duncan dude had only spoke to her with a standard greeting. He seemed to be one of those guys that had those kinds of effects on people.

"Well, actually," Duncan began, stepping onto the treadmill so that his body was firmly behind Sakura's, "My shoulders are aching so much, you know? But it's all in a hard day's work..." he dragged, as he slyly slid his arms around Sakura's waist. The treadmill had now stopped, and from my view, Sakura's face was getting quite red. I'm sure it wasn't because of embarrassment, but because of anger.

"I really need a shoulder massage. My whole body is stiff. You wouldn't mind giving me a rub here and there, would you?" he asked. I smirked. To see what Sakura did next was something I knew she'd do, and it's probably one of the most entertaining moments of my life.

"Actually," Sakura began, as she placed her arms on top of his in a flirty manner, "_Yes_." she said firmly, as she forced her elbow backwards, nailing Duncan right in the rib, "I do mind." and with that, he sank to his knees and held his rib in pain. Sakura stepped over his now aching body (because she knew it wasn't even aching from the start) and grabbed my hand. "Lets go," she simply said, and with that, we were off and out of the gym.

Once we were in the car, she knew that I had lots of questions coming to her. I'm surprised she didn't bother to stop me from asking her. "So, is he your boyfriend?" I asked in mock-curiosity. While strapping her seat belt on, Sakura looked over to me and raised her eyebrow as high as it could go.

"You think?" she replied, sarcasm dripping all over her simple answer.

I answered her with a laugh, and started the car. "So I get the feeling that this Duncan dude has a huge crush on you. Tell me, how long has this monkey been on your back?"

Sakura groaned as she began turning the dial of my radio once more, "Since we started college in the fall. Seriously, we meet at this one orientation meeting, and it's love at first sight. For him at least. For me, it was like hate." she finished, sticking her tongue out and placing her finger inside her mouth to show disgust.

"But why, though?" I asked, "Could you really tell he was that much of a jerk when you looked at him, or do you just judge a book by its cover?"

"Neither," she answered, "I couldn't tell, and I didn't judge. He showed me himself. Hell, he was hitting on anything that could move in that room. Believe me, he is one girl-crazy man. Unfortunately, he had to give up his "hit-on-every-girl" ways and start a "only-hit-on-Sakura" phase. God, he is so annoying."

"You got that right."

"Mmmhmm."

As I drove on the street, I watched the green light turn amber, to red. I switched lanes and I could sense Sakura already getting confused. "Why are you going to turn left?" she asked, "The dorm is the other way! Gee, are you that un-familiar with your surroundings yet? I mean, you've been here for like, two weeks!"

"I know that this isn't the right way to the dorm, braniac."

"Then why aren't you headed that way?"

With a smirk, I replied, "Because the library is this way." I laughed as I heard Sakura sink in her seat and groan.

-

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**Be awesome. Read and Review :) **

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD!


	4. The Flicker

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: Just so you knoooooooow, I wouldn't be making fan fiction right now if I owned CCS. But I don't. So don't sue me, please? x)

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions  
**bold font -** point of view

**The Flicker**

**Sakura -**

The week went by slowly. Ever since our little encounter with Duncan occurred and we spent three hours working on our History essay, we didn't really speak to each other much unless it was necessary. So, the days went by like I said slowly, and not much had happened. With Tomoyo gone, nothing ever happens. She's the one that always creates the buzz and excitement in my life.

So the week rolled to a stop on Friday. I was in my History class, my head down low on the sleeves of my shirt. I blew my auburn bangs out of my face so I could get a clear view of the cherry blossom tree outside, moving back and forth with the wind. Beside the tree was the brown bench, tucked neatly inside its shade which I always sat on to get some peace and quiet. It was hidden from all the things I had to deal with. It was perfect, and with my busy week and most probably busy weekend, I knew I'd be spending lots of time there.

Out of the blue, I heard someone hissing behind me. I snapped out of my thoughts and turned violently back around, to face Syaoran. His eyes were hinting to me and someone standing before me. I raised my eyebrows in confusion and turned to face the direction of the board. I suddenly realized that when I turned to look, Professor Petrussic was towering above me with a stern look on his face. I swallowed hard.

"Miss Kinomoto?" he said, his hands on his hips and his foot tapping impatiently on the floor, "Are you with us, or do I have to repeat myself?"

Nothing could help me in my situation, but I tried the apologetic look anyway, "Sorry, Professor. I was a little out of it. Could you please repeat your sentence which you were addressing towards me?" I asked, all lady-like and proper. I felt like I wanted to vomit. I know Syaoran did too, hearing him snicker from behind me. I guess he's lived with me so long he knows that I'm not that kind of girl.

"Well, Miss Kinomoto," Petrussic began, pacing around me and my desk, "I was actually complimenting you on the History assignment you handed in to me on Tuesday. It was very well researched." he said, with a large smile on his face. His attention was turned towards Syaoran. "Yours too, Mr. Li! I was very impressed with the both of yours."

I turned around to wink at Syaoran. I guess all that research paid off in the end.

At that moment the bell sounded off, telling me that the weekend had finally come. All the students began to close their textbooks and stuff them in their bags. As we marched out of the room in our usual group of friends, Professor Petrussic began shouting behind us, telling us which assignment was due the next week so we wouldn't forget. I mentally added his assignment to my "To Do" list.

Without hesitation, I bolted out of the classroom as fast as I possibly could, and ran to the cherry blossom tree. When I finally arrived there, everything was in place. The grass was still as green as ever, the cherry blossoms were still dancing with the wind. The brown bench - my bench - was still standing on top of the soft, brown soil, waiting for me to take a seat in it and begin my day's work. It was during these kinds of moments that I wished there was more places like this in the world.

I sat cross-legged on the bench and unzipped my backpack. I took out all the textbooks that needed to be taken out and all my notebooks that had all my work in them. I tucked my pencil behind my ear and began to leaf through my large math textbook, which by the way feels like a ton of bricks in your arms. I let myself become part of the surrounding, just another cloud in the sky as I started to answer my difficult math questions. All I could hear was the ringing of the wind...Until, of course, my focus was rudely interrupted.

"Nice place you've got here," Syaoran complimented, his head twisting this way and that, soaking up every bit of what he was seeing. What the hell was he doing there? That was my spot! No one ever came here but me. How did he find out about it?

I slid the notebook off of my lap and stood up, "What are you doing here? How did you even get here?" I interrogated, wanting my questions to be answered. God, with Syaoran already being in basically all my classes and being my roommate, being where I am most of the time was only making it worse! Keyword here: BEING. Just being near me ticks me off. Didn't he get the point?

"Well, I kind of followed you - " Syaoran began. AHA! I knew he was following me! From the very moment I saw his class-plan, I knew he was stalking me. And now, he finally admitted it.

"AHA!" I shrieked, shoving an accusing finger in his face, "I knew you were stalking me! Leave me alone you creep, and you better expect a restraining order - !"

Syaoran raised his hands up infront of him in defence, "Wow, slow down, Sakura. I only meant to follow you down here because I wanted to ask you something. Believe me, I'm not stalking you. Honestly, don't you think I have better things to do then to stalk some girl like you around?" he asked. He raised an eyebrow, and I knew he was telling the truth.

I smugly crossed my arms across my chest and kept my gaze towards the floor. Embarrassment flooded me and my cheeks, as I said, "Well? What did you want to ask me?" I waited impatiently for his reply. When he gave none, I cleared my throat loudly, coaxing him to ask me his damn quesiton already. "Well? What the hell is it? I don't have all day, you know!"

"Oh, right. Sorry," he finally said, shaking his head vigorously from side to side, "Well, I was just wondering...Are you doing anything important today? I...I mean, I know we both have a lot of homework, but...I was just hoping you could put those dumb assignments aside for just one day. After all, you have an entire weekend to - "

"Why?" I said suspiciously, as if Syaoran's question was just some devious plan to get me into some sort of trouble.

"What?" Syaoran asked, oblivious as to what I had just asked.

"I said," I answered firmly, "Why do you want to know what I'm doing today?"

Syaoran shrugged, "Well...You see, there's this party I was invited to by a girl. Apparently it's going to be a lot of fun. Anyone and everyone is welcome to come. You know, I may be the new guy around here but I hear things. Apparently, Mai's parties are really - " Syaoran half explained, kind of getting off topic again.

"Mai?"

"Um...Yeah, Mai. Mai Kenzington? Do you know her?"

I'm surprised my jaw didn't break seeing as how it basically fell to the floor, "Know her? Of course I know her! She's the biggest slut at our school! You can't go to her party! All of her parties are like hangouts for druggies and people who want to participate in orgies! It's all booze and sex! You absolutely cannot go there." I practically screamed. I covered my mouth in shock. I hadn't yelled like that in years.

"How would you know?" Syaoran asked calmly. It seemed as though my loudmouth lecture didn't get to him, "Have you even been to any of her parties?" Hmm. He had a point. I had never been to any of Mai's parties. People in my classes have, though. Besides, Mai's parties were famous around campus, I didn't need to go to hear about what went on.

"Well...No, but - "

"Then how do you know they're so terrible?" he interrupted.

"I hear things! So much people always bad mouth her parties, some people can't even talk because they have the biggest hang-over of their lives, and some can't even remember what happened - " I tried explaining, but Syaoran wouldn't hear any of it. I kind of got the feeling that Syaoran really wanted to be accepted here at Seiju. And I was guessing that in Syaoran's eyes, the only way to be accepted was to go to one of Mai's parties.

Realization suddenly smacked me in the face. I knew why Syaoran wanted to know what I was doing that day. He wanted me to go the party with him so he wouldn't have to introduce himself. He would go to the party with a girl that's already been accepted by everyone at Seiju and try to get with the crowd through me! It was a pretty good plan. If he wasn't so obvious about things, I never would've found out. But then another thought hit me. He didn't know that I knew what he was trying to do, so I decided to play things cool and act like I didn't know anything at all.

"Well..." I began, knowing exactly what I'd say, "You can go if you want, I guess...But I know for sure that I'm never, ever going to go to one of Mai's parties." There. I'd basically told Syaoran that I didn't want to go with him, or anyone else for that matter. Guilt sank into my stomach as I saw Syaoran's face falter. Hoping not to show that my statement had any effect on him, he simply stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded.

Suddenly, an odd sensation filled my body. It was so strong I stumbled backwards, and held onto the cherry blossom tree for support. My breathing became rasp and heavy, and I didn't know what on earth was wrong with me. I felt sadness. Not my sadness, someone else's. A bit of anger, and lots of disappointment. I raised my head and saw Syaoran standing before me, concern filling his eyes. That's when I felt it join the other emotions that were attacking my body. My eyes widened as I saw a green glow around Syaoran's body...It couldn't be possible. I was sensing...I was sensing Syaoran's aura! I didn't even know he had one!

"Sakura!" Syaoran said, giving my shoulders a good shake, "What's the matter? What's wrong?"

"Let...Let go." I requested, as I tried my best to squirm out of his arms. Obediently, Syaoran did as I asked, but I still felt kind of uneasy. He was hiding his aura once more. He was doing it slowly, but at least I wasn't feeling his emotions anymore. Soon, my breathing returned to normal and I was feeling myself again. I could still see the concern in Syaoran's eyes, but at least I wasn't feeling it.

"What...What happened?" Syaoran asked, his eyes making direct contact with mine.

"N - Nothing. It was...Nothing. Sometimes I do that. It's normal, really." I lied, getting onto my feet and beginning to pack all of my things. I didn't want to be near Syaoran at that moment. I wanted to be alone to collect my thoughts, to try and figure out what the hell was going on with Syaoran Li. I didn't want to do my homework or anything...And I definitely knew I didn't want to go to that party.

"Do...Do you need some air or something?"

"I'm already outside, you idiot!" I replied in a hoarse whisper, speed walking out of my special place.

To my surprise, Syaoran suddenly grabbed my elbow, halting me to a stop. "Okay, you know what? I don't even care about that dumb party anymore! I really don't care whether I go or not," he said, still not quite sure if I was alright, "But you seriously need to get out tonight. I think you really need this night out."

"You don't know that," I answered, wrenching my elbow out of his grip.

"Don't know that?" he said astounded, "Of course I do! Do you need a little re-cap of what just happened ten seconds ago, or do you want me to give you a play-by-play?" he added sarcastically.

For about five seconds, I started wishing that I could feel his aura again. Then, if I felt it, I could tell whether or not he was just lying to me, or whether his intentions were plain and simple: he wanted me to go out. I considered his invitation, kind of seeing a bright side to the situation we currently had at hand. But, realization hit me like a ton of bricks, and I shook my head. There was not a chance in seven hells that I would go to one of Mai's parties.

"Li, my answer is no." I replied, adding a hint of firmness in my voice, just so he could get my point. But apparently he hadn't noticed, seeing as how he kept on following me for the next fifteen minutes, tailing me everywhere I went. I couldn't do any of my stupid homework assignments in peace! I honestly had no choice but to his accept his bloody invitation to go to Mai's little get together. What am I saying? Large get together.

"Fuck it!" I finally said, fed-up with all his following and tailing, "Fine! I'll go to the damn party with you. Now will you please leave me the hell alone? I want to get some of my homework finished before I get wasted tonight." I watched as Syaoran smiled, and nodded his head. Just to make sure, I watched him walk back towards campus. I sighed in relief, and continued in the same direction, making sure that we had a good enough amount of distance in between us.

"Oh," I yelled, getting Syaoran's attention. He stood still, waiting for what I had to say, "Just so you know, don't expect anything from me. I'm not going to be making any promises, so like I said, don't expect me to be with you that entire night. Got it?" I asked, hoping to make my intructions clear.

Syaoran rolled his eyes and nodded his head. With that, he was off towards the library, and me back to our dormitory.

_**xxxxxx**_

I scrunched my eyes together in frustration. With a growl, I punched the pillow closest to me and ripped the paper out of my notebook ferociously. Pink eraser dust fell from the top of the paper, along with a big fat tear that escaped from my eye. Math akways got me abnormally emotional, especially when I couldn't understand a single question in my textbook.

I gasped, suddenly seeing the blob of water that landed on my hand. What had I just done? I hadn't cried in years! I was never this frustrated with my schoolwork since...Oh my God, I couldn't even remember the last time I cried. Why was this happening now? I had almost gone four years without releasing a single teardrop! I couldn't...I couldn't -

I fell off the sofa and onto the floor in pain. I surpressed my scream as best I could; only letting a pathetic groan escape from my mouth. It was happening again. Slowly, I unwrapped one arm from my stomach and clutched my heart. Fearfully, I raised the hand, which was resting on my chest and took a long, quivering glimpse at it. From my elbow and down, my arm had disappeared, but only to return two seconds later. As if someone was toying with the antenna of a television, my arm flickered out of my vision, and then back again.

"Go away..." I prayed, as my arm slowly began to piece itself back together again, but not quick enough, "Stop it. Stop - ! "

Suddenly, I heard the door of my dormitory open and slam. A pair of keys jingled on the side table as Syaoran had thrown them, like he did every night he arrived, "Sakura?" he said. I thanked the Lord that he couldn't see me, because my arm had not yet come back to full vision. I was ducked down so low infront of the sofa that he couldn't see me at all.

His heavy footsteps roamed around the dorm, and I heard them nearing towards the sofa. I couldn't let him catch me like this now, he'd get suspicious and question me like he always does! So I had no choice but to show myself. "Oh, here it is," I exclaimed, grabbing my pencil and chucking it to the side, "Oh, hi Syaoran. What is it?" I asked, making sure my arm was still out of eye sight.

"You're not wearing that to the party, are you?" he asked, his eyes roaming up and down my body.

"What? No, I haven't changed yet." I answered, glancing downwards to my arm. It finally stopped. With a sigh of relief, I got up and jogged up to my dresser., "I'll be ready in ten minutes." I called, "And get out!"

Syaoran did as he was told, and stepped outside of the dorm room to wait for me.

Just like I said, within ten minutes I was dressed in a new pair of faded jeans, and a cherry red halter-top. When I stepped out of the dorm, I saw Syaoran fiddling with his car keys. With one look at me, he just started staring like it was nobody's business. My cheeks turned the colour of my halter as I walked briskly passed him, his eyes following my every move.

"What?" I snapped, zipping my coat up to it's fullest extent, "Haven't seen a halter top before?"

Before answering, he sighed deeply and shook his head, "Whatever."

"Let's get going already. The sooner I get this over with the sooner I get that hangover I've always wanted." I added sarcastically, grabbing Syaoran's elbow. During the five minutes it took us to get to his car, I couldn't help but pray that nothing bad would happen to me tonight.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran -**

In just fifteen minutes, Sakura and I arrived at Mai's party. I could tell we were close to the place where she was holding the party because we could see the dozens of cars parked infront of various houses. I started to think that maybe the idea of going to this party was a bad idea after all, but Sakura had shoved all her homework aside for this. I couldn't let her actions be in vein.

So a little reluctantly, I walked across the lawn to the tall white house, Sakura just beside me. All the lights were on and there was not one person without a drink in in their hands. I knew I'd be one of the only people having a regular coke (not spiked), knowing I was Sakura's only ride back to the dormitory.

The minute I opened the front door, my ears were bombarded with noise so loud I thought I could be defeaned. People were roaming all over the house, some people sitting on the sofa, making out (or doing worse) with the person next to them. There was definitely some dirty dancing going on, (how could I not notice?) and some people were just standing around, their breath so salty with beer I could smell it by just walking past them.

"Sakura - " I began, only to be surprised that she was no longer at my side. My head twisted here and there until I finally saw an auburn haired girl wearing a cherry red top walk past all the drunken people, into a hall, which I hadn't noticed until then.

I sighed. Well, she did tell me not to expect to stay with her the entire night. I was still hoping she would introduce me to at least one person in the house, so I wouldn't look like a _total_ loner.

_**xxxxxx**_

Thirty minutes passed and I was still by myself, sitting on a sofa, sipping on some coke. Just one seat away from me, a couple was making out intensely, and...doing other certain things, which shouldn't really be mentioned. A hint of red crept up on my cheeks as I saw things get a lot more serious between the two, and just decided to keep my eyes forward.

Just a few seconds after making that decision that I thought would be final, some guys from another school came barging into the living room, all of them screaming and high-fiving each other, their arms raised. I cast my gaze upwards, and saw that they were carrying Mai, as if she were an Egyptian Queen or something. I just simply raised an eyebrow at their actions, and turned my head forward once more. What they did with Mai was none of my business.

Suddenly, the drunken frat boys came into my vision and they started walking towards me. I raised that same eyebrow when I noticed that Mai pointed her skinny index finger at me, and say something to the guys that were carrying her. Like a bunch of dogs, they obeyed her command (whatever it was) immediately, and dropped her into the empty seat beside me.

"Thank you, boys!" She said flirtatiously, and blew a kiss. Just as I expected, she turned her head towards me, and gave me that same flirtatious smile. In return, I gave her a weak one. I was yet to have a proper conversation with Mai, besides the time she invited me to this God forsaken party.

"Hi there," she said, crawling into my lap.

Both hands like stone, I tried my best to shove her off of me as I tried to make my reply, "Hey, Mai..." When my hands didn't seem to work against her well figured body, I simply just moved farther away from her, her butt slipping back onto the sofa.

"What's a guy like you doing alone at one of my parties?" She asked slyly, adding a flick of her long black hair while doing so. I forced myself not to roll my eyes.

"Um...Sakura is kind of - "

"Sakura?" Mai asked, a single threaded eyebrow raising to its fullest extent, "Who is Sakura?"

"Sakura Kinomoto," I answered, hoping to make it seem like the question was an absolute no brainer for anybody, "I share a dorm with her."

Mai's confused face was suddenly replaced with a look of annoyance and disgust, the corners of her lips curling downwards into an unmistakable frown. I didn't understand back then why Mai disliked Sakura so much, but I didn't really care at the moment. I just wanted to leave the party ASAP, meaning I had to find Sakura fast.

"Um...Listen, Mai, thanks a lot for inviting me to your party! Oh...Oh, you know what? Nature calls. I'm going to make a bathroom break. I'll be back soon, okay?" I said particularly quickly, ripping my arm out of her feminine grasp. Before she even had the time to complain, I bolted off like a bullet into another part of the house, where I took a seat once more, and continued to sip on my coke.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Sakura -**

For the whole thirty minutes that we spent at the party, I was just simply roaming around the house, visiting every room. Not to my surprise, most of the rooms were occupied with one, two, sometimes three couples at a time, doing things that I had yet to experience. I didn't even bother to apologize the last time I walked in on something like that. They never acknowledged my presence, anyway.

As I walked down the crowded corridors, I past something I hadn't seen that entire night - an empty room. Kind of excitedly, I stepped into the room, and saw that it was filled with Night Gazer merchandise. Night Gazer T-shirts, Night Gazer posters, all of Night Gazer's CD's, etc, etc. Gee, and I thought I was the biggest Night Gazer fan out there.

As I was fingering through the number of CD's I had yet to buy of Night Gazer, I heard the door shut with a light thud. I turned around and saw some guy with dark curly hair. His outfit was all torn up and ripped to look stylish, I guess, and his dark grey eyes reminded me of something cold and grey...

"What are you doing in my room?" he asked, not a single hint of alarm in his voice.

Abruptly, I dropped the Night Gazer CD and quickly turned to him, "Oh. Sorry. I didn't know that someone that went to this party actually lived here...Sorry, again. I'll get out of your way," I muttered, kind of surprised that this was his room. I'd finally met my match when it came to Night Gazers.

"No, it's okay. You can stay if you want." The guy offered, taking a seat on his bed.

I simply nodded in reply and continued to look at all the things in his room. I was in the middle of opening this brown box to see what other Night Gazer merchandise he had when he asked me, "What's your name?" I hesitated a while before I answered. I hadn't really given my name to a stranger like this.

"Um...Sakura. Yours?" I asked.

"Hiro." He answered, still not showing a hint of expression since I had spoken to him.

"A big fan of Night Gazer?"

"Only one of their biggest!" I replied enthusiastically, indicating that I was one of their biggest fans, seeing as how I wasn't as big of a fan as this Hiro guy was. I had to give him some very large props on having basically all of their merchandise in this single bedroom.

"Want to see something neat?" he asked, getting up from his seat.

"Sure," I answered, leaving my coke beside the brown box.

I walked over to his bed side table, where he was standing just on the other side, as he pulled out some hand drawn pictures of the band, playing at a live concert or something. My eyes widened as he turned each page, all of his drawings becoming better and better.

"This is so cool!" I said, taking the pictures for myself and flipping through all of the pages as quickly as possible, sometimes turning it to see the previous one, "And you drew all of these by yourself? This is absolutely awesome. Are you going to some art college or something?"

Hiro did not answer, but walked back towards the brown box. I remembered my drink was still beside it, and believe it or not, my throat was kind of parched. "Oh, could you hand me my coke, please? I'm kind of thirsty." I requested, but within the next twenty minutes, I was going to wish I never had.

"Sure," he replied. I noticed a kind of slyness in his voice, but decided to ignore whatever odd thought I was thinking.

I took a large gulp of my coke, and began to look at more of the pictures Hiro drew. They began looking oddly blurred to me, and I started to think I needed glasses. But apparently, that wasn't the case. With each page I flipped my vision became even more blurred, and my eyes began to droop quickly. I yawned reluctantly, dropping the book onto the floor.

I didn't know what happened, but I could no longer control what I was doing. My bones felt like jelly and I couldn't help but fall backwards onto the bed. Hiro's face suddenly came into my more than ever blurred vision, and plastered upon his face was a sly smirk. At that moment I felt like knocking his lights out for good. Overwhelming anger filled my body, and there was nothing I could do to stop me from feeling like this.

In a whisper which I hoped would reflect my anger, I said, "What did you put in my drink?"

"You'll never know," he replied in a voice, which I wanted him to never use, as he waved a bottle of white tablets infront of my face, and placed them into that same brown box.

Just as Hiro was about to start undoing the zipper of my jacket, my stomach began to flicker, just like my arm had done that very afternoon. His eyes widened in fear, and if I could've given him the same evil smirk he gave me, I would've. Stupid jerk.

"_What the...What the hell is happening to you?_"

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran -**

The party was getting really boring. The booming music, and the odd sights I was seeing in the house had now become something I was used to seeing. Even as a couple came crashing down beside me, kissing each other like they didn't care that they had barely enough air supply, I did not once bother to move away or mind my own business. It's not like they bothered to keep theirs private.

I yawned into my hand, and I suddenly realized the time. If both Sakura and I wanted to finish all of our assignments in time, we had better start getting home. Just as I was about to get up to place my plastic cup on a table, something knocked me back down into my seat. The cup fell to the floor, spilling all of its conents.

But I didn't care, not did anyone else. My body was being attacked by all of these sudden emotions, which I knew were none of mine. I could feel anger - lots of it. I could also feel some sadness and worry, but they were nothing compared to the large amount of anger I could feel. I had to find out where these emotions were coming from.

The sensation was coming from somewhere down the crowded hallway, where lots of the rooms were. As quickly as I could, I shoved and tossed I don't know how many people out of my way to get to the room which I know contained the person of whom emotions I was feeling. The emotions became stronger and stronger with each step I took, which could only mean that I was getting closer to my destination, wherever it was.

I halted to stop, infront of a mahogany door. From beneath it, a silvery kind of light was shining through, and I knew that it was someone's aura. I knocked on the door, but no answer came. Helplessly, I glued my ear to the door but could hear nothing. The music in the house was just too damn loud. So, I had no other choice but to kick the door open with my foot.

My eyes widened in shock when I saw the sight before me. On a bed lay Sakura, and a man sitting before her, frantically zipping and unzipping the zipper of her jacket. The man's forehead was glistening with sweat and he had the most worried look I could have ever seen.

But his emotions weren't the ones that I was feeling. My eyes landed upon Sakura's sleeping kind of figure, and I saw that same silver glow coming from beneath the door, surround her body. I jogged up towards the bed and took a seat beside the still just as ever worried man, staring wide-eyed at Sakura's normal stomach.

"What happened?" I yelled, taking hold of Sakura's arm and checking her pulse. It was beating fast though, oddly fast.

"I...I...Dude, it wasn't me, I swear! Her stomach!" The guy said, pointing a finger at Sakura's stomach, "Her stomach! Her fucking stomach! Dude! _Look at it!_"

I shook my head, seeing nothing wrong with Sakura's stomach. "Get out of the way!" I commanded, trying to pick up Sakura to get her anywhere else, just as long as she was not in this particular room.

"No!" He yelled, bringing her back down onto the bed, "Look!" In one swift motion, he unzipped her jacket to reveal her cherry red halter-top, and lifted it so I could see her fair colour stomach, and the tiny whole of her belly button. "What the fuck?" The man screamed yet again, still look as horrified as ever, "There was something wrong with her stomach, man! Seriously - "

"Get out of the way!" I screamed, hoping that this time he would understand. Quickly, I scooped Sakura up into my arms, and heading towards the now beaten down door. I stopped in my tracks as if I had been shot in the head when I heard Sakura's dull whisper.

"Syao...Syaoran..." Came her weak, delicate voice. Her eyes were barely even open.

"Sakura...Sakura, what is it?"

"Hi...Hiro..._Him_!" Sakura whispered, lifting her arm just a few centimetres and pointing it towards the guy that was obsessed with Sakura's stomach. "It was...It was...Him. He...slipped...drink. Rape...date!" She coughed out, her arm falling limp beside her, along with her once raised head. I saw her eyelids close over her emerald eyes and I understood what her "almost sentence" was.

"You, jackass!" I screamed, lying Sakura on the floor, "Where the fuck do you keep your rape date pills? How the hell do I cure her? And there better be a fucking antidote or I swear you'll never live to see the light of day!"

"They're right here man!" Hiro answered, a shaky arm presenting me with some white tablets, "The stuff will wear off in a few hours! Just keep that chick away from me!"

"That won't be a problem you dirty bastard." I replied, punching him in the face, making sure that I gave him a nosebleed that would last for hours. "Come on, Sakura." I said, grunting as I picked up her fragile body once more, and carried her out of the house. I ignored all the stares I was given, and did not care. I had to get Sakura somewhere safe.

Once we were safely in the car, I put her seatbelt on for her. Her head rolled to the side, her body still limp as ever. I sighed, knowing that this party truly was a bad idea. The way I looked at things, Sakura was in this kind of state because of me. If I hadn't left her alone - hell, if I hadn't let her come at all. She could've gotten raped because of my stupid wanting to be accepted.

I decided from that moment on that I would never jeopardize her life like that, ever again.

The whole time we were driving back to the dorm, Sakura slept like a log. When my car rolled onto the pavement of the parking lot, I began to think of how I would bring Sakura back into the dorm, and how to get inside. I didn't bring a key, but I knew that Sakura did. She never left without it. I had no choice but to scoop her up into my arms once more, and carry her all the way up. It was no sweat for me, seeing as how I've done a lot worse in training sessions.

I gently set her down onto the floor, so that her back was against the wall and her legs were stretched out before her. I reached into her jacket pocket, and bingo. There they were. I picked out the silver key, the one that looked exactly like mine, and opened the door. I threw the her keys onto the table, and set her down on the bed.

Quietly, I took her jacket off for her and placed her sheets on top of her. After I had neatly tucked her in, she rolled to the side of her bed, so that her back was facing me. I sighed. It even seemed like she was mad at me when she was asleep.

Still feeling very terrible about myself, I tucked some of her hair behind her ear. I began to remember the day we first met, and I realized that I almost forgot about how soft her skin was. I couldn't help but reach out and stroke her pale face, and sigh while doing so. She rolled back onto her back, and I took that as a warning sign. I stopped immediately and was about to start changing into my own pajamas when Sakura's pale hand landed on top of mine.

"Syaoran..." she moaned, her eyes just barely even open.

Surprised, I turned back around, and took hold of her hand, "Sakura...go back to sleep. You'll need the energy for tomorrow."

"But..." she replied, her whisper sounding as hoarse as ever, "I -"

"Sakura, I'm so sorry." I began, "I'm so sorry for leaving you alone at that party. I'm sorry I even asked you to come with me. This is my entire fault, and I understand if you never want to - "

"It's not your fault..." she answered, her arm floating back to her side.

"I..." she yawned, "Forgive you."

I sighed. Did she just forgive me? Gee, and I thought she never could. "Sakura, why didn't you tell me you had an aura...like me?"

She moaned in her sleep, and all I could do was chuckle. The magic talk would just have to wait until the next day.

**Sakura -**

I was half awake. I barely had enough strength to tell Syaoran that I...Oh kami-sama! I told him I forgave him. I didn't have the strength to scream. All I could do was moan, and I heard Syaoran laugh. Little did he know that yet another part of my body began to flicker, only to stop when he was sound asleep.

-

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**Be kind. Read and Review :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	5. A Little Q and A

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, got it punk? LOL. Just kidding. The plot is mine and that's basically it. Don't sue me, for goodness sake!

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions  
**bold font** - point of view

Now...on with chapter five!

**A Little Q and A**

**Sakura -**

I was completely blank the entire time I was sleeping. It felt like my eyes had been closed for an eternity, and the rays of the sun beaming onto my eyelids was such a strange thing to feel. I groaned loudly. Exactly how long had I been sleeping? It couldn't have been very long...I felt so weak. So drained of all my strength. What on earth happened?

Morning came slowly. My eyes were red, and I could already feel the wrinkles forming from beneath my emerald eyes. I moaned, and I checked my digital alarm clock. It was apparently 6am. I actually woke up before the time I set it to alarm, which was a big surprise for me. So, since I didn't need it anymore, I turned the alarm off and headed for the Girls Comfort Room. Only very few people were up, but nontheless, people still stared at me.

I changed into the clothes I brought with me, and walked out. The same amount of people were still in the quiet halls, talking about what they would do that day or something else. The sun hadn't even risen yet, so it kind of surprised me to see that people were planning on what they would do.

Once I arrived at my dorm, I placed my left hand onto the doorknob. I hesitated a bit before opening it. What if Syaoran was awake? What would I say to him about last night? I could barely remember what had happened. All I knew was that I fell asleep on somebody's bed, and the last thing I saw that night was Syaoran punching the crap out of some guy. I really didn't want to talk about it. My head was spinning so much. But knowing Syaoran, he probably wouldn't drop the subject.

With a deep breath, I turned the knob and opened the door. Just as I had expected, Syaoran was sitting on his bed, and rubbing his eyes. He looked directly at me, and his expressionless face suddenly turned confused. My cheeks filled with colour and all I could do was look downward. I knew he had seen my eyes, because he was staring at me like everybody else did in the hallway. My eyes were still just as red as ever, the tell-tale lines of fatigue, basically telling him how I spent the night.

"Sakura...are you alright?" he asked, getting up and walking towards me.

I scratched my neck in embarrassment and kept my glance glued to the floor, "Yeah, I'm fine. I think I have a hangover or something..." I added, hoping to have a little humour in my slightly embarrassing moment. I giggled nervously, and was surprised to see that I had mustered up enough courage to look Syaoran in the eye.

Surprisingly, his eyes weren't filled with concern or worry, like I thought they would be. Instead, they looked stern and unpleasant. I immediately looked away, not able to understand why he had such an odd look plastered onto his face. "What?" I asked, moving back to my bed and folding my blankets, "What is it?"

"Sakura, don't you know what's happened, or what you've been doing?" Syaoran questioned, following me to my bed.

I raised my eyebrows. What was he talking about? What happened, and what exactly did I do? "What?" I replied, hoping to get a straight answer of what exactly he was talking about.

I watched. His eyes grew dark and suspicious, as if he thought I had something to hide. Besides the Cards, which I'm sure he didn't find out about, I had nothing to hide from him, so why was he looking at me like that? Had I let something slip about my having magical powers? Could that have happened?

"Sakura...you've been asleep ever since we left the party two days ago...and why didn't you tell me before?" He waited for an answer. Just like mine, both his eyebrows were raised too. He looked almost as confused as I was. "You don't know what I'm talking about?" Syaoran said after a while, his eyebrows now going downward, forming wrinkles at the top of his forehead. "You have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about?"

"None!" I answered truthfully.

"Um...Okay then." Was all he had said before leaving for the Men's Comfort Room.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran -**

As I walked the wide corridors on my way to the Comfort Room, I sighed in minor frustration. Had I not felt what I thought I had last night? That couldn't be possible, though. If I hadn't felt those emotions of anger and worry, then I would've never been able to find Sakura. There would be no other explanation for it.

Maybe I was too straight forward? Or maybe Sakura didn't even know she had magical powers? What if she had just let out her aura without knowing it? But did she even know she had such a strong aura? Oh, God. Everything was just so confusing. I had to clear my head somehow.

I couldn't take the chance of telling Sakura that I knew of her magical powers. What if she really didn't know? I would be telling her the very thing that would change her entire life! I had to let her find out on her own. However, I couldn't help but to allow myself to try and help her. I couldn't possibly let Sakura live the rest of her life without knowing she had such a gift.

I decided at that moment that I wouldn't tell her of how I found her. I would make up some crummy lie, and I knew for a fact that she'd fall for it. After all, being her roommate for the past three weeks had certainly been a very educating experience for me.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Sakura -**

Dear God! Had I really been sleeping since the party ended? What happened the other night? And don't even get me started on the homework I didn't finish. But that was beside the point. At the moment, I could honestly care less. While waiting for Syaoran, there was only one thing I could think about the entire fifteen minutes he was gone. What the hell happened, and what did he mean when he said, "Why didn't you tell me before?"

Curiousity took over me. What had I told Syaoran the other night? Had I told him something crucial to my very being? Had I told him about the Cards, or any embarrassing secrets? No, it couldn't possibly have been something about some embarrassing moment. It had to be more serious than that. That stern look in his eyes definitely had to do with something much more important.

The moment he stepped back inside the dorm, I was pacing, and getting very anxious. "What the hell happened the other night?" I exploded, throwing my arms up into the air, "What did I tell you? What was it that I told you that got you so stern-looking and everything, hmm? What, God dammit, what?"

Syaoran held his hands up in defence, "Whoa, whoa! Slow down. Don't worry...you never really told me anything important, but something bad did happen last night. I don't know if you want to listen..." he said, taking a seat on my bed without my permission. Normally, I would've been disturbed by that, but I let that one go.

"No, no!" I coaxed, taking a seat beside him, "I want to know! Please, tell me."

"Alright..." he began, wringing his hands together, "Well...We were at the party last night, and we both got separated. I couldn't find you for at least thirty minutes or so. The last time I saw you, you were walking off down some crowded hallway."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember that." I interrupted.

"Yeah, well...You got into some room with a guy you didn't know, and..." He immediately stopped at that sentence. I sensed that he didn't want to go on about what happened, and an idea suddenly popped into my head. The most worst case scenario I could possibly think of! My eyes widened in fear and I automatically got up from my bed.

"Oh my God!" I screamed, beginning to pace around the room again, my forehead becoming sweaty, "Oh my God. I had sex, didn't I? I lost my virginity to some jerk that I don't even know, didn't I? Oh no, Oh no. What if I'm pregnant? What if I have an STD? What if -- ?"

I stopped in my tracks. I felt that same kind of pain happening to my stomach once more. Fearfully, I looked down and I saw what I hoped wouldn't happen again for a very long time. My stomach began to flicker. In and out of my vision it went, so that it looked like I had no stomach! I groaned in pain and bent down lown onto my knees.

"Sakura?" I heard Syaoran say, his voice filled with worry. I sucked in a deep breath. I couldn't let him see me like this. Luckily, I was bent over behind the bed so he wouldn't see what was happening to me. I grabbed the piece of clothing nearest to me and placed it over my re-appearing stomach. I put on the most normal face I could muster up, and sat with my back to the wall.

"I'm...I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Sakura...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. It wasn't that...It wasn't that at all. But what I was going to say was that some guy drugged your drink. He drugged so he could sleep with you, but he didn't." he finished, guilt dripping with every word he had said.

"WHAT?" I yelled, standing up and keeping the shirt infront of my stomach still, "Some bastard tried raping me the other night? Oh hell! Give me that guy's name, phone number, address, whatever! I will hunt his ass down, and he'll never live to see the light of day! Mark my words, if he ever goes near me again -- "

"Calm down, Sakura. He won't." Syaoran added. A hint of assurance came from his sentence, and I got the vibe that he wasn't telling me something. I eyed him suspiciously, and decided to question him further, no matter what he had to say. I needed to know what happened - everything that happened.

"It was you, wasn't it?" I asked, not being very specific, which explained Syaoran's overreaction.

"Me? Me? Are you accusing me of raping you? Sakura! What kind of guy do you think I am? I've been living in this dorm with you for over three weeks! I thought you would've known me enough by now to know that I would never, ever do something like that -- "

Throughout his entire sentence, I'd been trying to stop him. It wasn't until his last statement that I actually got his attention, "Syaoran, Syaoran! Stop it! I didn't mean it like that...I meant...it was you wasn't it? You stopped him from doing what he was going to do. You...you rescued me, didn't you?" I explained, my voice growing softer.

I saw a blush creep onto Syaoran's pale cheeks, "Well...yeah. I guess I did."

I smiled, and dropped the shirt that was hiding my stomach. The flickering had already stopped, and so I had no reason to keep holding it. "Syaoran...I don't know what to say," I replied, moving my body closer to his without even knowing it. I let out a long sigh, and incidentally took in a large whiff of Syaoran's intoxicating smell of...peony blossoms. I closed my eyes, delighted with what I was smelling.

"Sakura?" I heard Syaoran say, obviously confused as to what I was doing.

My eyes snapped open, and I immediately stopped. "S - Sorry," I apologized, shaking my head, "As I was saying...I really don't know what to say," I continued, my head totally blank. I had no idea how to thank Syaoran for his good deed. He saved me from losing my virginity to some creep. No words could express how grateful I was.

"You don't have to say anything. Honestly," he replied, a shy smile threatening to cover his entire face.

"Yes, yes I do," I insisted. With a long pause and without knowing what I was thinking, I leaned in closer towards Syaoran, and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. I felt his cheeks grow hot beneath my lips, and I let out a giggle. "I hope that'll do." I joked, creating a small distance between us once more.

"I'm sure it will," Syaoran breathed, still shocked by the kiss, I guess.

Throughout our long silence, there was still one thing that was bothering me. How on earth had Syaoran found me? If I was drugged, I certainly wouldn't be able to yell, or kick, or scream. I wouldn't be able to move. There had to be something that he or I had done to let him know that I was in danger, but what?

"Er...Syaoran?" I asked, finally breaking the silence, "I was just wondering...how did you find me with him?"

There was a long pause. I looked at him expectantly, and I knew that he knew I was getting quite impatient, yet he still did not say anything. At first, I thought he didn't hear me, but that wasn't possible. I was sitting right next to him! How could he have not heard me?

"Syaoran -- ?"

"Sakura," he began sternly. It shocked me to hear such a voice. It seemed that whatever he had to tell me, it was important, "Have you ever...made anything happen? Unexpectedly? If you were ever angry or sad, did you ever give off some type of...glow?" he asked.

I raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

"I found you the other night because I felt..." he continued quite reluctantly, but was never able to finish his sentence. My cell phone cut him off, and he sighed in frustration. I gave him an apologetic look as I grabbed my purse, and started to look for the stupid thing.

"Hello?" I answered impatiently. Another voice came on the other line and I let out a loud scream, "I'm so sorry! I totally forgot! The week had been so busy! Oh my God, I hope you're not angry! I'll be there in just a minute! Give me fifteen minutes!" I said rather quickly, grabbing my coat and keeping my purse within my grasp.

"I'm sorry, Syaoran. We'll have to continue this later. Tomoyo's coming back from Canada today and I just totally forgot! Sorry...Oh, God. My car is back from the body shop, right?" I half apolgized and asked. I waited for Syaoran to nod his head. "Great!" I exclaimed, making a mad dash for the door, "Bye, Syaoran!"

"It's in the parking lot. You'll find it," he assured me before I left, and throwing me my keys which I had left on the side table. On my way out, I hit myself on my forehead, and mentally scolded myself for being so forgetful that week.

_**xxxxxx**_

I bobbed up and down on my tip toes, trying to recognize the familiar face of my best friend. I was currently in the Pick-Up area, and I stared in jealousy at all the other friends hugging, and families crying in happiness, totally joyful because of the fact that their loved ones had finally come home.

Moments like this made me reminisce about me and Tomoyo's friendship. It had all began in kindergarten, when the pretty little popular girl walked up to me, the shy timid one, and handed me a single bunny eraser. That bunny eraser would be the very thing to start our beautiful relationship as best friends, the very two people that could not be separated.

"HEY BABE!" I suddenly heard from the large crowd. My head immediately turned round to the direction of the name-caller, and there, standing in on top of her luggage bag, was Tomoyo Daidouji, waving her arms up and down as fast as humanly possible.

"HEY HUN!" I screamed back, sprinting towards her in an ugly kind of manner. I gave her a large hug, and quickly took in that same smell of lavender. But something there was something about her scent that was strange to me. It wasn't the same one I was used to, but it had grown...different. I guess that was normal. Things always change.

I held her at arms length and took a good look at her, "Good time?" I asked, beginning our greeting ritual which always took place like this when either one of us left Japan.

"Yes." She replied, restraining a laugh.

"Great guys?"

"Yes!"

"Awesome food?"

"Yes."

"Never leave me again?"

"You got it!"

Tomoyo laughed heartily as I just giggled a little. Her smile began to falter with just a single glance at me, and then my own smile turned into an apologetic one. Whatever was going on between us couldn't really be explained, although I knew why Tomoyo's smile had faltered. "Is that all the enthusiasm you have for your one and only best friend that you haven't seen for a week?" She asked, half sarcasitc, half serious.

I sighed. "I'm sorry. It's not that I'm not happy to see you, it's just that...well, I'll tell you in the car." I said, taking hold of her luggage and lugging it all the way to my car.

_**xxxxxx**_

"NO WAY!" Tomoyo screamed, now facing me wide-eyed. I nodded sadly after I had just told her about how terrible my week had gone. "Now I know what you mean when you said your week was busy. Holy crap." Tomoyo stated, shock still written all over her face.

"Damn. Car troubles, homework, a party, a rape-date drink, and a somewhat hangover. Damn. Sakura, you just wait. The minute I have a hold of that guy he'll regret the day he was born, believe you me -- " Tomoyo said, which made me laugh a little.

"That's been taken care of." I replied, half amused by Tomoyo's disappointed face.

"By who?" She asked.

"Er...Syaoran," I replied. The moment Tomoyo's eyes widened once more, I took my eyes off of the road, knowing the idea she had in her head. Forgetting about what I was doing, the car swerved off the road but back again, and Tomoyo began to laugh harder than when she was in the airport. "No, no, no! It's not what you think! He's -- "

"Your boyfriend!" She interrupted, clapping her hands together, "He's your boyfriend!"

"That's not true!" I answered lamely.

"Well it will be soon!"

I shook my head, and hit her playfully on the arm. I still made sure that it caused her minor pain, however. "You're really stupid, you know that?" I asked, making a smile form on both of our faces.

"What can I say?" Tomoyo said, shrugging her shoulders, "I rub off from the stupidest."

_**xxxxxx**_

I turned the key to unlock the door of my dorm and made room for Tomoyo to enter. "Syaoran?" I called into the dorm, dragging Tomoyo's large luggage bag into my part of the dorm. I grunted slightly, tugging with all my might. Tomoyo smirked at the sight of me in "hard labour," amused at seeing me like this. "Shutup." I told her, though she said nothing.

"Syaoran?" I called again, hoping that he had already left for his classes, which he probably had.

"Oh Syaoran..." Tomoyo sang, diving onto my bed, and grabbing an open chip bag from the top of my night stand, "Tomoyo Daidouji, entered dorm...Tomoyo Daidouji, dropping all dressed chips all over your side of the floor...Oops, look at them go!" Tomoyo joked. Sakura smiled. She always tended to make messes for fun.

"Hey, those are mine!" A sudden voice had said. Almost too fast for both girls to register, Kero came flying out of the night stand drawer and flicked the chips away from Tomoyo's hands, spilling them all over Sakura's bed. Tomoyo giggled, and petted Kero happily, the way she always did. Grabbing a rag from the side of the room, Sakura groaned and threw it to Kero.

"Clean that up!" She ordered, not wanting a large mess in her dorm.

"Loosen up, Miss Cranky Pants! I will," Kero answered, beginning to chew on the chips that were scattered all over the bed. Crumbs spilt over his chin, only creating more of a mess.

"So," Tomoyo said, after grabbing a few all dressed chips for herself, "Did you tell Kero about what's happened yet?" She asked. Sakura's hand instantly flew towards her forehead, making a large SMACK kind of noise. She gave an apologetic look to Kero, who wasn't even in on their conversation. He was still happily chewing, humming while doing so.

"Uh...Kero...I have to tell you something."

_**xxxxxx**_

"WHAT?" Kero screamed, his jaw almost reaching the floor. Sakura winced at the amount of anger she heard in his scream, and although his yell was not at all that loud, she still felt like smothering her head underneath a large fluffy pillow to block out the noise, "If that guy ever go near you ever again, I swear I'll -- "

"Taken care of." Both Tomoyo and Sakura said at the same time.

"What?" Kero said, astonished, "By who?"

"Syaoran," the two girls both said in unison once more.

"No!" Kero said in disbelief, his eyes glued to Tomoyo's as if begging for details.

"I know! Don't you think -- " Tomoyo began, only to be interrupted by Sakura.

"But there's something else I have to tell you guys. Er...Kero, I don't know how...and I don't know why, but I might have let something slip that night. Because today, before Tomoyo called me on my cell, he started to talk to me, like he was questioning me about my magical powers. And...how else could he have found me? He never really got around to telling me how."

"WHAT?" Kero screamed, now standing on just his hind legs, "That's impossible! He couldn't have found out! No possible way. No, sir." Kero stated, a sense of dismissal in his voice. I payed no attention to it. I just pressed on about the matter, worried that Syaoran might know something about me that I didn't want him to know.

"But what if? You never know...I can't even remember a single thing that happened last night, so just imagine, would you? What if he really did know? Should I just...tell him so that it's out in the open, or should I just keep him guessing -- ? "

" -- Certainly not!" Kero cried out, throwing a chip at me for my stupidity, "You don't tell him a single thing...Because, what if he didn't find anything out and you tell him anyway? The possibilities for this situation only go two ways. And I strongly advise you to go with my way. Don't tell him anything."

Before I could even reply, the door to the dorm burst open, and Kero's body fell flat and solid, onto my bed. Syaoran stepped inside, and walked directly to his side of the dorm. He didn't even notice Tomoyo and I sitting on my bed, watching his every move. He must've been in a rush. I could tell by the way he was moving.

"Need something?" I asked, suddenly grabbing Syaoran's attention away from his night stand.

"Oh! Sakura...hey! Tomoyo...welcome back! Er, sorry to interrupt whatever it was you were doing. I just forgot one of my text books in here and my class starts in about five minutes."

"Oh, don't let us get in the way," Tomoyo said, a sly smile creeping up onto her face.

We both watched as he opened and closed the two drawers on his night stand, and finally walk over to his study table. Inside the very first drawer was the textbook he was looking for. He held it up like a trophy, and smiled triumphantly, "Got you, you little monster!" He exclaimed, and began to make his way out of the dorm.

He halted to stop as he passed by my bed, "Sakura, Tomoyo...will you try not to make even more of a mess of those chips when I come back? And if you're not too lazy, could you try cleaning it?" He added sarcastically.

"Shutup!" I said, grabbing the pillow that was nearest and throwing it in his direction. It just barely missed him. He was lucky he was already out the door the minute I reached him. I watched as the pillow hit the door lamely, and slid down to the floor.

"Did you see that?" Tomoyo asked, a weird smile on her face.

"See what?" I asked, moving my body further away from the bed to get a closer look at the door, "What did I miss?"

Tomoyo threw a chip at me, "Not the door, you idiot! Syaoran!"

I stared at her, completely confused. This was obviously one of Tomoyo's questions that had to do with something I had no idea about, and then she'd answer the question herself, as if I was too stupid to get the question through my brain. I hated that.

"Tomoyo, I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

"Honestly? Oh come on! You didn't see the major flirting that was going on just five seconds ago?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. I had just had enough of this. "Alright. That's it. Out, out right now!" I said, walking up to the door and holding it open for Tomoyo. "You're so blind. Can't you see that we were fighting, and not flirting?" I said, waiting for her to get out.

"Oh come on, Sakura, I was just joking." Tomoyo replied.

"Don't care. I want you out anyway. I've got homework to do, you know?"

"Did I tell you how much you sucked?" She asked, as she tugged on her luggage with all her might. I smirked as I watched her grunt all the way down the hall. I snorted. Tomoyo really needed to start working out every now and then.

I plopped back down on my bed and sighed. Finally, it was just me, all by myself in the dorm. With the exception of Kero, of course. As if reading my mind, he spoke, "I'm bored, Sakura! Let's do something. Come on, please? Pretty, pretty please?" He pleaded, laying flat on his stomach.

"Well..." I said, as if I had something in mind. I could sense Kero's shoulder rise, eager to hear my supposed plans with him for the day, "I don't know about me, but you can start cleaning up the mess you helped Tomoyo make." I finished, throwing him the rag once more.

"Aww!" He complained, grabbing the rag and cleaning up the mess, "Speaking of which, don't you have some classes to get to, or are you just going to play hookey for the entire day?"

"Oh man, I totally forgot. It sucks being in college." I replied, grabbing my coat and my backpack.

"Oh, man! Don't tell me I have to spend another day here, alone, stuffed in that God forsaken drawer of yours!" He said, following me up to the door. I shrugged him off with the wave of my hand, and he sighed gloomily, flying all the way back to my bed.

I felt sorry for the little guy, so before I left, I said, "There's another bag of chips in the second drawer. Remember, you clean whatever mess you make, got it? Bye!"

And just before I shut the door, I heard him cry out in joy, and dive into the second drawer of my night stand.

_**xxxxxx**_

As I walked the rest of the way to my English class in no rush at all, I took the time to breathe in the scent of all the Sakura trees that were growing all around me. Spring had come quite fast. Just almost a month ago it was February, cold, damp, and rainy. I found it odd, the way the weather, just like everything else, had changed so quickly.

My thoughts were suddenly rudely interrupted, when who I thought was just a passer-by, held out an arm before me. As I walked passed them, not aware of what they had done, they had their slimy arm wrapped around my waist, and had me pulled into their chest.

"What the --?"

"Hey there, my lovely Sakura." Someone had said. I looked up at the sky hopelessy, knowing the man that had so stupidly tried to hug me, "I haven't seen you for a while. Been trying to hide from me, were you now?" He asked, his not so elegant charm making me want to vomit all over his leather jacket.

"Duncan, if you don't mind," I began, as I tried my best to wriggle out of his arms, "I have an English class to get to, and you're not making things any easier for me."

He wrapped both of his arms around my waist possessively, and it made me want to punch him, but I didn't want to make a scene. He nuzzled his nose deep into my neck, and whispered huskily, "Your english class can wait, can't it, honey? You've got some other important things to deal with."

"You know what, Duncan? You read my mind. It just so happens that there's this jackass trying to flirt with me, and I seriously need to knock his lights out," I said, throwing an angry fist at his eye. Before my fist could make contact with it's target, he caught my wrist furiously, and I almost thought he was going to hit me. He wouldn't though, not there.

I gasped in pain as he squeezed my wrist. It felt as though he was cutting off my blood circulation. Suddenly, I heard someone come running up, just not quick enough. "Hey!" The person shouted, their footsteps becoming louder and louder with each step they took. At least someone trying to stop what was currently happening. But I didn't need that person, whoever it was. I could handle myself, because now, I wasn't drugged.

I brought my knee up as high as it could go, and actually hurt him where it hurt the most. He staggered backwards and grabbed his aching nuts, and fell backwards onto his back. I rubbed at my wrist, where a hand mark was starting to form. "Jackass!" I said, as I watched him squirm beneath me.

"You...stupid..." Duncan gasped, not able to speak, "You're...going...to...pay!"

"Oh yeah? That'll be the day," I snorted, beginning to make my way towards my English class again, not even bothering to explain to all the staring people. Sure, I had made a scene like I didn't want to, but it was totally worth it.

When I had looked up, the first thing that greeted me were Syaoran's deep amber eyes. "Are you alright?" He asked, looking back to me, and then Duncan, "Nevermind...I guess you handled yourself quite nicely." He said, beginning to walk in step with me in the same direction. It was then that I just remembered we both had English class at the same time.

"Yeah, I guess I did." I said, an unexpected smile sneaking its way onto my face.

"It's about time you came to at least one class. The stupid Professors wouldn't stop bugging me." Syaoran said.

"Well, what did you say?" I asked.

"Just that you had to pick up Tomoyo from the airport."

I sighed in relief, "Thanks for the cover."

I heard him chuckle, "No problem...so, ready for the crap load of homework you're going to have for the rest of the week?" He asked, adding a little humour into our conversation.

"Not nearly." I replied, with an unmistakeable pout on my face.

He chuckled once more, and unexpectedly, wrapped one arm lightly around my waist in a...friendly type of matter. If that was any other guy, I would've kicked him in the shin. But this was Syaoran...and not only was he one of the nicest guys I've ever met, he rescued me the other night. I guess I could let this one slip.

"No worries," he assured me, with the tightening of his arm around my waist, which I liked, and a knowing glance into my eyes, "You'll have help."

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**Be gentle. Read and Review :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent!_ xD


	6. English Assignment Research

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: My mommy raised me RIGHT, and when I say that, I mean that she taught me NOT TO STEAL. So, I do not OWN CCS or ANY of its characters! The plot is mine, and that's basically it :-).

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions  
**bold -** point of view

Now...on with chapter six!

**English Assignment Research**

**Syaoran -**

We walked the rest of the way to our English class with my arm around her waist. I had no idea why I had done it in the first place...I only meant it as a friendly gesture, just to let her know that I was there to help her with her homework, or any other problems for that matter. What if she took it the wrong way? But on the other hand, why the hell would I even care? She'd just be another one of those girls that thought I was interested, but really wasn't, right?

The moment we reached our English class, I had totally forgotten my arm was still around her. Sakura seemed to have forgotten too, because knowing her, she would've told me to stop by the time we went inside. But she didn't. So, we entered the opened door, interrupting Professor Milo as he was talking.

He looked at the two of us disapprovingly, and I watched as his gaze moved downward to my arm around Sakura's waist. I knew what he was thinking, just like everybody else in the class. Angry girls gave Sakura looks that could kill, but she merely shrugged it off with the raise of an eyebrow. Jealous guys of whom I knew wanted Sakura just as bad as Duncan uttered swear words underneath their breath. I felt both embarrassed and amused. It was an entertaining feeling, knowing that the majority of my English class thought I was with Sakura Kinomoto, a.k.a., one of the hottest girls at Seiju College.

"Sorry we're late, Professor," I began, making my way to my desk which was just behind Sakura. By then my arm had fallen to my side, not anywhere near Sakura. I could sense the tension cease, and I felt the strong urge to laugh out loud.

"Nice of you to join us," was all Professor Milo said, as if not hearing my apology. He walked over to Sakura and me, handing us both a sheet of criteria for our next assignment. I muttered a swear word beneath my breath just as soon as Professor Milo was out of ear shot. Why in the hell would he give us an assignment, when Spring Break was just around the corner?

"Before your entrance so rudely interrupted me, I was in the middle of telling the class about their latest English assignment. I had just about finished partnering everybody up, but now that you two have arrived..." he droned on, scratching his chin, "Well, since you two are the only people left without partners...I suppose you two could just be together for this assignment, which works out well, I presume, seeing as how you two are roommates."

The majority of the class' jaws nearly dropped to the floor, for obvious reasons.

"Professor Milo," one person began, standing up from his seat. He, too was one of the many men crushing on Sakura, probably the only one willing to protest against Professor Milo's decision infront of him. Ryu, his name was, "That seems totally unfair. They're dating! They shouldn't be partners."

"Whoa!" Sakura said, raising a questioning eyebrow, "Yes, Syaoran and I may be roommates, but we most definitely are not dating." She said. I watched as more than a dozen girls gave sighs of relief, knowing that the object of their desire (me, unfortunately) was still on the market.

"I don't see why they can't be partners," Professor Milo replied, his shoulders rising in a reasonable shrug, "Besides, I am in no mood to be switching partners around right now, Ryu. So if you don't mind, take a seat." Professor Milo finished, kindly requesting for the green glowing Ryu to sit down.

As he sat down, not in the best of manners, Professor Milo went on about our assignment; "Your assignment over Spring Break is to write an essay with the partner chosen for you. I'm sure you all know what I'm expecting of you - proper grammar, punctuation, etc. Ten thousand words, and not a word less, understood?" He explained, getting everybody in the room to sigh or murmur in complaint.

"What?" Sakura said in disbelief, obviously angered at the fact that she had to spend her Spring Break writing some stupid essay about me, "Come on, Professor. It's almost Spring Break!"

The class joined in protest. Milo raised an impatient hand, gaining the class' attention once more, "That's exactly my point, Miss Kinomoto. I'm not any regular teacher that gives you guys breaks. If you could just fit a little bit of time writing your essay the whole time you guys are drinking, or partying as you may call it, then that would be nice."

I was truly impressed with the words Professor Milo had chosen to use. Maybe he wasn't as old as most of us students thought, "Now, now class," he began once more, the class' anger growing with each moment, "I'm not asking you to spend the entire Spring Break with your chosen partner, writing anything you can about them."

I rose up my hand, "Then how exactly are we supposed to write this essay?" I asked.

Professor Milo leaned against his table, "Well, Mr. Li, I suggest that you and your classmates take the three days left you have of this and the rest of your classes with your partner, taking notes and learning anything you can about your them. Once you think you've gotten enough information, that is when you can be able to write the essay."

"What makes you think we can learn enough stuff about them in just three days?" Ryu chimed.

"I suggest you use your time wisely, Mr. Hans." Was all Professor Milo said, before leaving us to tend to our assignments.

_**xxxxxx**_

"Is there anybody else in your family?" I asked Sakura, truly fascinated with her background. Apparently, she was born and raised in Tomoeda, where she went to school and high school. Her Dad is a retired acheologist, and her brother owns a popular restaurant. Speaking of which, her brother is also apparently very over protective.

Sakura sighed, obviously bored with our assignment. We weren't even nearly finished, though. She still hadn't asked about my family yet, "Nope. Just my dad, Touya, and me."

"Okay..." I said, jotting something down onto my notebook, "What about your mom?"

Something about my sentence made Sakura's gaze harden, her emerald green eyes suddenly becoming angry. Her eyebrows moved downwards, fixing a glare onto my confused face. After staring at me like that for a while, she began doodling in her notebook, like she hadn't even heard my question.

I hesitated before I spoke, "Uh...Sakura? Did I -- "

"She's dead." She answered plainly, as if her mother's death was no big deal.

I stopped dead in my thoughts. How stupid could I have been? Of course it was only her, her brother, and her dad! Her mother died, and there I was, thinking that her parents got a divorce or something. For the whole ten seconds I paused, I felt nothing but guilty, and I had no other choice but to apologize.

"Oh, Sakura...I'm - I'm really so -- " I began, almost finished my apology.

"It doesn't matter. Her name was Nadeshiko. She had really dark hair. Forest green, almost. She worked as a model for a popular magazine...one of the prettiest women you would ever see, my dad said. She died before I ever got to actually speak to her. Died giving birth to me. Is that what you wanted to know?" She said, not once looking up from her piece of paper.

"I...I...Sakura, I'm really so -- " I tried again, now feeling more guilty than ever.

"I said it doesn't matter," she snapped, practically ripping her gaze off of the piece of paper, "I killed her, anyway. Now is that all you wanted to know?" She repeated. Her words stung like a bee, and I merely cringed.

My jaw had instantly made contact with the floor the minute she had said that. Was that what Sakura thought? That she was the reason behind her mother's death? "Come on, Sakura..." I said, trying to make my voice sound as soothing as possible, "It's not your fault -- " And I was cut off once more. It seemed Sakura had a thing for interrupting me.

"Of course it was my fault. She died giving birth to me, Syaoran. What more explaining do you need?" She replied, her voice now sounding more dangerous than ever. It seemed that there was nothing else I could do but just drop the subject, and just let her think that she killed her own mother.

"Okay then..." I replied, writing down all I knew so far about her family. "So," I began, wanting to start off on a brand new, clean slate, "What do you like to do in your spare time?" I asked, sounding as if I was a reporter, interviewing some famous celebrity. I waited intently for an answer, not once removing my eyes from Sakura's.

"Um..." Sakura thought, as she tapped her pen lightly onto her paper, which was now half filled with doodles, "I just like to hang out with my friends, mostly. Go to movies, play sports - namely volleyball. I like to run a lot, too. When I was a kid I used to do gymnastics...I still kind of do now, so I guess you could say that I like to do that," she answered, still thinking of other things to name.

"Anything else?" I asked, writing down all she said.

"Um...I like to sing sometimes."

Before I could write down what she had said, my head snapped upwards, an awkward smile making its way onto my lips. Seeing the way I was looking at her, Sakura gave me a skeptical look, probably wondering why in bloody hell I was staring at her like that. Before I could stop myself, I said something I didn't really mean to. The words just seemed to tumble out, "You sing? I never knew that...I'm sure you have a beautiful voice."

Sakura's mouth opened, as if she was going to say something. But she didn't. Her mouth closed slowly, and as it did, a blush began to form on her cheeks, like hearing me say that made her entire year. Her eyes darted back and forth from me to the floor, and I was beginning to grow confused. When I called her name, it was as if she hadn't heard me. Like she was a whole other world away.

"Thanks...but I wouldn't bet on it if I were you," She said after a while, tracing little circles onto the floor with her toes.

Like before, when I couldn't control what I was saying, I said, "Why don't you sing for me?"

I watched as Sakura shifted in her seat, the rosy colour on her cheeks beginning to spread, "I..." she spluttered, trying to choose her words carefully, "I shouldn't. We should be working anyway. What's the next question?"

"Oh come on," I coaxed, now really curious as to how her singing voice sounded, "No one will hear you except me. Why not?"

"Um, why don't I start asking you questions?" She replied, avoiding my question. Ripping out her doodle covered paper from her notebook and starting on a fresh one, she clicked the top of her pen and looked at me expectantly, like I would actually listen to her and just stop asking her to sing for me. I thought she would've known me better by then.

"Please?" I asked, just one more time.

"Syaoran..." She said reluctantly, not wanting to reject me another time.

"Alright, alright, I give." I answered, before she could finish, "So, what do you want to know about me that you already don't?"

_**xxxxxx**_

**Sakura -**

Although I'm almost positive Syaoran wasn't as fascinated with my background as I was with his, I couldn't help but tell him how cool I thought it would be to live like he did back in Hong Kong! He had only told me quite a few things, but all those things I thought were really interesting. I found out that...

1) He has four sisters. Four older sisters! Can you believe that? Their names are Fuutie, Feimei, Sheifa, and Fenren Li. All huge romantics, (romance and fanatic - best of both worlds.) and all having long term boyfriends of their own. Apparently great match makers, too!

2) Lives in an apparently, large house. So big that he doesn't even like it! Complete with a butler (Wei, or something like that.), maids, and chefs! I had no idea how rich Syaoran was!

3) Only really had one friend when he was growing up. Li Meiling, his cousin. And get this - they were engaged! Engaged to your own cousin...I found that oddly weird. Of course, Syaoran had no real feelings for her, and called if off with difficulty. I didn't feel like putting that in my essay...

4) His dad died when he was only four years old. Unlike me, he told me nicely, without snapping at anybody or talking about his father's death like it was no big deal. He even let me apolgize without interrupting.

And strangely, he hadn't told me anything about his mother yet. Even when I asked, it seemed as though he was being very secretive about it. But come on, what did he have to hide about his mom? I'm sure she had a normal job or something like every other mom had...and with the money he had, she probably had a very good one!

"At least tell me her name," I coaxed, when he refused to tell me anything about her once again.

"I don't know..." He replied, his voice hesitant and reluctant.

"Oh come on. It's not like your mother's some criminal."

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Her name is Yelan. Yelan Li."

I tapped my pen against my chin, deep in thought. Something about his background seemed familiar, like I knew his sister's and his mother's name before, and that for some odd reason, I just knew he was extremely wealthy. There was something he wasn't telling me. I just knew it. But what?"

"Hmm..." I said, my pen still hitting my chin lightly, "Fuutie, Sheifa, Fenren, Feimei, and Yelan Li. Those names...they seem oddly familiar. Like I've heard them before."

Syaoran laughed nervously, "Why would you think that?"

I shrugged, shaking off any previous thought I had. Of course Syaoran wasn't hiding anything from me. He didn't have any reason to, "I don't know. I guess I'm just acting weird..."

"Yeah," Syaoran chirped, his voice suddenly becoming...high, "That's probably it. Anyway, it's not like -- " For about the millionth time in this class, Syaoran was interrupted by Professor Milo, who was clearing his voice loudly at the front of the class. Both my eyes and ears were given to him, waiting intently for our dismissal.

"Spend your time wisely with your partner!" Professor Milo said, as the students began to file out of the classroom, "Remember, ten thousand words!"

Side by side, Syaoran and I walked out of the classroom, ready to leave for our next class together. But then I had remembered. His next class was the only one he had without me. We would have to part, and I had this weird feeling at the bottom of my stomach, like I was disappointed or something. But I couldn't have been...right?

"What were you going to say?" I asked, before parting with him, his next class being the only class we didn't have together. As I walked further in the hall, getting swallowed in the hundreds of students crowding the small hallway wasn't an easy thing to avoid. In just a few seconds, I was seperated from Syaoran.

I could tell he had difficulty hearing me when he had screamed something like, "WHAT?" I shook my head, yelling my question one more time, this time louder.

"WHAT - WERE - YOU - GOING - TO SAY?" I said, emphasizing each word as best as possible.

He held his hand up to his mouth, obviously hoping to project his voice further into the hallway, so it could reach me, "I was going to say," he began, before being pushed further away from me, "That I'd never lie to you!"

_**xxxxxx**_

Later that day, when other assignments were added onto my Mount Everest pile of homework, I flopped onto my bed stomach first, and let out a deep sigh. I knew I should've just started on my homework straight away, so I could get everything out of my hair, but I couldn't help myself. The soft sheets were just screaming my name, daring me to fall asleep.

Just as I was about to drift to sleep, I heard the door knob turn and someone calling my name. I sighed once more, this time in frustration. Oh well. I guess my dreams of floating along the milky way were going to have to wait.

"What?" I said, thoroughly irritated.

Syaoran entered the dorm, backpack and books in hand. Without hesitating, he dropped everything onto the floor and did as I did once I arrived. He was clearly just as tired as me, althought I had no idea why. He wasn't the one that was just recently drugged and had a pile of homework as tall as the Empire State Building.

"Sorry. Did I disturb you?" He asked, not a tiny bit of regret in his voice.

I scowled at him, though I knew he couldn't see, "No, Syaoran. You didn't," I said sarcastically, my sentence not even beginning to reflect upon my annoyance, "I was just in the middle of taking a nice nap when you came in and called my name. You better have woke me for a good reason. What do you want?"

Funny. You'd think I'd be treating him better after he had rescued me, "Sorry," he repeated, the second time around having less meaning than the last, "But I was only going to ask if you were up for doing research on our English Assignment. You know...so I could make your Empire State Building pile of homework to a tiny size of the Statue of Liberty."

I groaned, "Alright, fine. What do you want to know about me now?"

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran -**

"Actually..." I replied, "I wanted to know what your favourite movie was. You know, to add something that has interest for Professor Milo to read?"

Sakura's left eyebrow raised and I had just realized what I said, "Not that I mean your family isn't interesting or anything," I added quickly, raising a hand in defence, "It's just that...we both seem to blabber a lot about our family and hobbies. That's all we really have so far...I was just thinking that maybe..."

"It's okay, Syaoran," Sakura said, before I could finish, "I get it."

I sighed, and if Sakura wasn't there, I would've wiped the unnoticable sweat off of my forehead. I didn't want to get Sakura angry. Sometimes it seems like if you got her really angry, you had to approach her like she was a ticking bomb or something. I haven't witnessed her in this state, however. I've yet to see her in her angry mood, which I'm thankful for.

"So..." I said, "What's your favourite movie?"

A very tiny shade of pink appeared on her cheeks. It was so small I barely noticed it at all. But if I wasn't looking so closely at her, I would have never noticed. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she suddenly said, making my head automatically move backwards. Dammit. She'd caught me in the act.

"Er...no - no reason. What's your favourite movie?" I repeated.

Sakura arched an eyebrow, obviously still confused. All I had to do was smile, and she just shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. Not that she didn't know what her favourite movie was, but because she was shaking the thought of my staring at her out of her head...I hope, at least.

"Well...don't laugh...but my favourite movie is _Sleeping Beauty_, the animated one?"

Without me even noticing it, a smirk had spread across my face, making the blush on Sakura's face grow a tiny shade darker, "_Sleeping Beauty_? A little kid movie? Why?" I said disbelievingly, as if the thought of her even liking something that had to do with romance was the most impossible thing in the world.

"Shutup..." She said shyly, bringing her knees up to her chest and burying her face deep inside her thighs, "I told you not to laugh!"

"I'm sorry!" I said, this time really meaning it. I didn't mean to make her embarrassed; it's just that I couldn't contain myself! Tiny sounds of laughter escaped from my mouth unwillingly, only causing the blush on Sakura's cheeks to spread, "I'm sorry! I don't mean to be laughing like this!" I covered my mouth, even though it wasn't helping me at all.

"Syaoran stop it! Do you want me to answer your damned question or not?" She asked.

"Alright, alright. I'm good," I said, taking a few moments to compose myself, "Alright. So, tell me, why is it that you like _Sleeping Beauty_ so much?"

She got herself comfy on her bed, as she prepared to answer the question. I did the same, with an invitation of course. Sitting or lying down on Sakura's bed without her permission was like a death wish.

As if the answer to this question was a no-brainer she said, "Can't you see? Princess Aurora has everything a perfect girl can have, thanks to the three fairies. Not being invited to the celebration of her birth, an angry witch curses her: the moment she pricks her finger on a spinning wheel, she will fall into an eternal slumber, as they call it."

"Sakura, I know what happens. I've seen this movie before…but you're not exactly telling me _why_ you like it so much. You're just basically telling me the plot."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "I was getting to that, genius." Was her reply, "To keep Aurora safe, all the spinning wheels in the village are burned. The three fairies take her away to a cottage in the village, where nothing can harm her, where she's safe from anything dangerous. So they're basically hiding her away, letting her grow up where everything is all rainbows and lollipops, when she's really cursed. They're basically hiding her reality, the real world."

I nodded attentitavely, to show Sakura I was still on track.

"And there's another thing. On the day of her sixteenth birthday, the age when the curse is supposed to be fulfilled, she meets Prince Charming. She's grown up in a world full of happiness, with three old women, so this has to be her first time meeting a guy. And she surprisingly feels something for him. She has no idea what the hell it is, so she gets scared away."

"When she eventually _does_ prick her finger on the spinning wheel, thanks to the angry witch, she falls into that eternal slumber. Now everything is switched around: she's being kept from all things safe. To keep her from ever waking up, the witch puts a forest of vines around the castle, and puts Aurora in the highest tower to sleep, where she's supposed to be saved my true love's first kiss. Isn't that smart? She's supposed to be saved by love."

I opened my mouth to speak, knowing where Sakura's speech was getting to, "Yeah! And the Prince, already being in love with Aurora the moment he met her, will do anything to save her. So he makes his way through the forest of vines, fights off the big, black dragon, all to get through to the one he loves most."

"Exactly!" Sakura said, clapping her hands together in applause, "It's the ending that I don't like."

"What is it about the ending you don't like?" I asked curiously.

"He kisses her."

I raised an eyebrow, "What's so bad about that?"

"And then they live happily ever after."

I nodded once more, now understanding her point, "Even though you like the plot and all that, you don't like the fact that she has to be saved by a _guy_, or in other words, Prince Charming."

"You got that right," Sakura said, crawling towards me so that our bodies were dangerously close together. A knot suddenly appeared in my throat when I'd seen Sakura's body shaped like that. Her shirt moved sexily upward revealing a tiny bit of her back, as she stretched her arms out before her, as if to grab something. "If you ask me, Aurora could have handled herself. She didn't need him."

It was as if I hadn't even heard her. My eyes were glued onto that little bit of skin that was showing, but luckily she hadn't noticed. She didn't even notice that I was practically suffocating because of the fact that the knot in my throat was growing larger, making it impossible for me to breathe, "What are you doing?" I managed to say without my breath becoming short and raspy.

"I'm trying to pick up my backpack!" She grunted, which was probably the reason why she was in that position for quite a long time. Her backpack was probably stuffed with all her textbooks and assignments, "Would you mind lending me a hand for God's sake?"

I snapped out of it, "Oh right, sorry!" I said quickly, bending over her bed to easily lift up her backpack. I plopped it onto her bed, and I was surprised that the bed springs didn't give out.

"I think I've got enough for me to go with for the English Assignment. I should probably leave you with your work…" I said reluctantly, though I was trying to get out of her presence quickly. Something about Sakura always made me feel uneasy. It was at that moment that I had forgotten about the fact that she had magical powers. Oh well. I'd have to talk to her about it some other time.

"Wait!" She suddenly said, grabbing hold of my hand. An electric shock seemed to pass through us both, and I know Sakura must have felt it, too. I immediately let go, not knowing what would've happened if we stayed that way. "I…" Sakura began breathlessly, staring at her hand as if it were something she'd never seen before, "Aren't you going to help me with all my homework?" She said after a while, looking at me with adorable, pleading eyes.

Almost as though we'd never felt anything, I smiled. I took a seat on her bed, and began to help her unpack the things inside her bag. The entire time I was working with Sakura, she was no longer a roommate with magical powers. To me, she was just an ordinary, beautiful girl that I had the honour of doing homework with.

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**Be coooool! Read and Review :)**

**Wishing You A Safe and Enjoyable Halloween, AND Thanksgiving,  
**Agent08 – _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	7. Where the Truth Lies

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS or ANY of its characters! The plot is mine and that's basically it :-). So please, don't sue me!

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions  
**bold font -** point of view

Now...on with chapter seven!

**Where the Truth Lies**

**Sakura -**

I sighed loudly. In just two hours, Syaoran helped me breeze through at least three quarters of my math homework. He wasn't even getting frustrated with me, unlike past tutors who got easily fed up with me. No, not Syaoran. He was really patient with me...I was really lucky to have him for a roommate.

"Done...and...done!" I shrieked loudly, letting my textbooks fall to the floor, "Three quarters of my math homework done, all of my information technology homework done, and now all I have left is to work on the last bit of my math, and that english assignment. Yes!"

Without even thinking, I threw my arms around Syaoran's neck, "You save me from getting raped, and help me with my homework. You know, you really are a real life Superman."

I felt his body grow warm. With my arms still around him, I created a small distance bewteen us so I could see his face. I cocked my head to the side, confused as to why his ears were so red. I blinked a couple of times. That's what I did when I didn't understand something, "Syaoran, what's the matter?"

"N - n - nothing," he replied, his head moving quickly from side to side, "Er...is that all the help you need with your homework?" He asked, shrugging himself out of my grateful embrace. I frowned, though I hoped he wouldn't find out the reason behind my slight disappointment. Hugging me couldn't have been that bad, could it?

"Um, yeah. Thanks again for all of your help," I tried again, hoping that a standard "thanks" wouldn't make his ears go red again.

"Oh. Okay then. I should probably get started on my own homework then."

My hand flew to my mouth, and my eyes took the shape of two very round coins, "Oh my gosh, I totally forgot. Why didn't you tell me you needed to work on your own homework? You could've just told me that you needed a break or something." I said, angry with myself for wasting two hours of his precious time. Hadn't I bothered him enough this week?

"It's alright, Sakura," he said, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. Something about his skin touching mine made the hairs on my neck raise, "I wanted to help you. Really." He wasn't convincing me.

"And anyway, I have to go to the bathroom."

I watched as he got up from my bed for the first time in two hours. He walked across the dorm towards the door, and exited for the bathroom. I blinked a few times again. For some odd reason, I got the feeling that he was trying really hard to get out of my presence. But why? I sighed. Maybe he just didn't want to help me with my homework anymore.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran -**

I need to learn how to control myself when it comes to Sakura. I sighed frustatedly and ran a hand through my hair. I'm surprised I didn't pull at it. Why did I always have to go red after she did something simple? Like hug me, or thank me? Not a single girl made me act like this before, so why now? Why of all times, now? With Sakura?

I went into the Men's Comfort Room, just like I told Sakura just to get out of the dorm. I stood with both hands placed on either side of a sink, my head bowed down low so that the reflection of the mirror in front of me was of the top of my head. I inhaled sharply. Luckily, no one else was in the bathroom to see me in this state.

"She's just a girl," I said to myself, before turning on the sink and turning the temperature of the water to as cold as it could get, "Just a girl."

With magical powers.

And the most beautiful emerald eyes I would ever see.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Sakura -**

"I'm hungry," Kero said again for about the millionth time, "Can I please, please fly out to the Hamburger Place? It's right down the street, and it's like, 8pm! No one will see me. Or - or, can you please use the Sweet Card on me? Come on, Sakura!"

"Kero, there's not a chance in seven hells that you will fly to that Burger Place again. Remember the last time you did that? I had to convince them that you were a wind up toy." I replied, still ignoring every pleading look he threw at me. His tiny, beedy, black eyes seemed to have no effect on me anymore.

"Yeah," I heard him mutter underneath his breath, "And then you made me starve to death for a week."

"I heard that!" I snapped, throwing a pillow at him, "And about using the Sweet Card...you're insane. I'm not using a Sakura Card on you when Syaoran might walk in at any moment. I have a roommate now, remember? I have to be more careful with what I do!" I explained, hoping that Kero would understand why he was so low on junk food.

"So lock the door! Please, Sakura...you haven't even used the Cards since I don't know when! Sometimes it feels like a year..." He said. This time his voice didn't even hint towards the Sweet Card. He was talking about all the Cards in general. And how I've neglected them...Gee, you'd think they were my kids or something.

I sighed deeply, staring at the ground, "Eight months. It's been eight months since I used a Card."

Kero gaped at me, "Eight months? Sakura, the Cards need to be used at some time or another!"

"We're just lucky that I'm NOT using them! The only time I've ever used them at least a dozen times a day was when I was trying to capture them, or turn them into Sakura Cards. Meaning that there was danger. And there's none. There hasn't been for a long time. So you should be thankful."

"Even so!" Kero shot back, his voice dripping with anger, "You're only going to use them for emergencies? That's stupid! Clow Reed used them whenever he felt like it. If he thought a tree needed blooming, or if the floors needed a good scrub. He used the Cards so they could feel of use to him somehow. So they wouldn't feel neglected."

"Don't be stupid, Kero. The last time I used a Sakura Card was when you got all dirty because you were playing in the mud again. Don't you remember?" I said, now on the defensive.

"Yeah, so?" Was his dull reply. He turned his back on me angrily, his short, yellow arms folded across his chest. He sighed, as if trying to control himself from yelling at me, "Sakura...whether you use the Cards on me to make me a meal, or use them because we're in danger...just use them."

I sighed. Wow. I found myself doing that a lot that week, "Are you just trying to get me to make you a snack or something?"

"No!" Kero snapped, giving me a dirty look.

I laughed, hoping to cheer Kero up, "Oh calm down, will you? I'll tell the Sweet Card to whip something up for you, okay? Now will you just shutup?" I said in an annoyed tone of voice, though while I said that entire sentence I was smiling through and through.

"Really?" The head Kero had could not fit the large grin on his face.

"Yes, really!" I said, reaching for the neckalace hidden somewhere inside my shirt. The chain for the Key was quite long, so I always made sure that it was inside my bra somewhere, so no one could see it. I never really cared if anyone saw, actually, I just never really thought it was something for people to see around my neck.

Once I'd found it, I placed it in the middle of my palm. I took in a large breath. I was going to say it...for the first time in eight months.

"Key concealing the power of the stars..." The Key magically lifted itself from my palm, and an odd glow began to surround it. My aura had changed colours since I was in seventh grade. It was pink before. Now it was grey. Kero had no idea why.

"Reveal thy true form before me! By our contract, I, Sakura, command you --! "

"Sakura?" I heard someone call from behind the door. My eyes snapped open and the glow surrounding the Key had abruptly disappeared. Kero had flown quickly into the desk drawer, and I stuffed the Key back into my shirt, far down, so that no one would see it once again.

The door opened with a click, "Instead of doing my homework," Syaoran said, coming inside the dorm, "I was thinking we could go out for a some coffee. You know, as a break."

I sighed in relief. He hadn't seen it. He hadn't seen the magically floating Key, or the grey glow...he hadn't seen any of it. After thanking the Almighty Lord for him not seeing, my mind raced back to his question, and whether or not I wanted to eat. I gave him an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Syaoran. I wish I could. But I really need to finish the rest of my homework. You know, to get everything out of my hair so I can have a homework-free Spring Break?"

"Oh, okay. I'll help you out."

I opened my mouth to speak. As much as I would have loved his help, I couldn't let him. He had homework of his own, and he'd helped me enough. I was already wasting so much of his time, "No, Syaoran...you can't. Go out and eat. Have a good time outside of this stuffy dorm. Really, you don't have to help me."

"No, no." Syaoran said, taking a seat on my bed once again, "I want to. Really!"

"Syaoran, you may want to, but I'm not letting you."

"Then I'll stay in here." He said stubbornly, crossing his legs on my bed and folding his arms across his chest, "I won't have a good time out at a bar or cafe while you're cooped up here, doing homework that you're basically already done. It just seems unfair."

My mouth hung open. He wouldn't really do that, would he? My eyes softened...gee...I hadn't known how sweet and caring Syaoran could be.

"Hey, I have an idea!" He said, opening up one of my binders to a blank page and handing it to me, along with a pencil, "Why don't you ask me more questions about myself so you can get started on that English Assignment? All you really have are the basics. You want to ask me my favourite movie? Or my name?"

Accepting the binder and the pencil, I hit him playfully on the arm, "I already know your name, stupid. It's Syaoran."

"Not my Chinese name."

I rolled my eyes, "Alright then, smarty pants. What's your Chinese name?"

He laughed. I closed my eyes for a second, and within that one second, his chuckle seemed to ring in my ears. It had sounded so sweet, so rich, so angelic. Like the person that laughed like that had nothing wrong in their life.

"Xiao Lang," he replied, "Xiao Lang Li."

Just as I was about to reply, something inside the drawer moved, creating a noise. Both my head and Syaoran's head flicked to the side, to see what had made it. When we did nothing, the drawer became silent. But just as we were about to turn back to each other and pretend like it was nothing, something inside it moved again. I glared. Kero...

"Um, Syaoran, do you mind getting me a cup of coffee?" I asked, sweet as can be.

"What?" He asked, as if not hearing me right. What was so wrong about him getting me coffee? Oh yes, that's right. He'd asked me to go with him and I said no. And now I'm asking him, except to go without me? That sounded all too weird.

"Uh...It just so happens, I'm really thirsty. Can you please get me coffee?"

He stared at me with disbelieving eyes, "You can't be serious. It's all the way down the street. And it's not like it'll take me an hour to get there, it's just that, can't you get it yourself?"

Kero moved inside the drawer again, this time a fraction of a second longer. He was getting impatient. I could tell. But what did he have to talk to me about, and was it really that important that he had to make a fuss in the drawer? A fuss so big that got my unsuspecting roommate curious?

"Look Syaoran," I said, pulling him up on his feet and pushing him towards the door, "Take this," and I handed him my empty water bottle, "And fill it up with water for me? Please? The water fountain is only on the fifth floor."

"And we're on the tenth!"

"Five floors, big deal! Bye!" I said, shutting the door on him before he could protest. This time, I didn't forget to lock the door. Whatever Kero had to tell me better have been important, because he was really starting to piss me off. If he had just done that to get food, he could've starved for all I care.

But it wasn't about that.

It was about something important. Much more important.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran -**

"Five floors, big deal! Bye!" And with that, she shut the door on my face, just as I was about to reply. I heard the lock click, which only made me grow even more confused. I opened my mouth to protest, and raised my hand to bang on the door. But then I realized it was useless. So I just shook my head and began to walk along the hallway to the elevator. Five floors it was.

Why did she want me to leave the dorm so badly? She couldn't have been that thirsty, could she? No. It was just so sudden. She was hiding something from me. I just knew it. But I wouldn't go running back up to the dorm and start interrogating her, like she'd expect me to do. I'd respect her privacy. And then wait for the time when she'd be ready to tell me.

Odd. I haven't respected a girl like this since...since...I can't remember.

I guess that made Sakura different from the other girls I've met.

As I walked into the elevator with the empty water bottle inside my hand, I began to grumble. I wasn't even that angry. But I grumbled anyway, "Stupid water fountain...on the stupid fifth floor. Make me go five floors down just for a damn water bottle..."

It was then that I noticed that some guy with a bandana was staring at me. I chuckled nervously and nodded to him. I hadn't expected him to start talking to me, "You know, dude, instead of going down five floors...you could always go to the thirteenth floor. There's a water fountain there."

I smiled and thanked him. Two floors less then I was supposed to go. Much easier.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Sakura -**

"Kero!" I hissed, immediately after Syaoran left, "What the hell! Are you honestly that hungry? God, you didn't have to make it so obvious that I have a live stuffed animal stuck in my damn drawer! I thought we went over this! I have a roommate now! You can't just do things like that -- !"

"No! I'm not that hungry!" Kero replied, as he flew out of the drawer, magazine in hand.

"Then what the hell were you doing?" I said, angry that he even bothered to talk back to me, when it would be his fault if Syaoran found out about him.

It took him a while to answer. He was breathing heavily, like he had ran around the neighbourhood or something. His was glaring quite hard, too. He was clearly just as angry as I was, "Why didn't you tell me his full name? All this time he was a Li! Why didn't you tell me he was a Li? And from China for goodness sake?"

I looked at him dumbfounded, "I didn't think it mattered!"

"Well it does!" He yelled, throwing the magazine at me. I caught it with my hands, but did not bother to look at it. I'd never seen Kero act like this before. Not since I became Mistress of the Clow Cards.

"Why are you acting like this?" I said, more so to myself than to him, "Why does it matter if his last name is Li?"

He sighed deepily. He waited a while so his breathing could go back to normal. And once it did, he began again, "No wonder his name means nothing to you. You never knew. All this time, and I forgot that you never knew."

"Never knew?" I echoed, "What do you mean?"

"Xiao Lang Li, Sakura! Xiao-Lang Li!" Kero said, throwing his arms in the air, "Don't you remember me telling you that someone was trying to steal the Cards from you? That there was another eligible Master for the Cards? That's him! Xiao Lang Li, or in other words Syaoran Li!"

I blinked. Once. Twice. And again. I don't remember when I had blinked so much. I looked at Kero disbelievingly and began to move backwards. I stumbled onto the bed, which was lucky, because my legs began to grow weak, "That's...I..." I was at a loss for words. Completely speechless. I had no idea what to say.

Syaoran Li. The man that I've been living with for the past four weeks was the boy that I was warned about in fourth grade? The one that had once tried to steal my beloved Cards? The Cards that I had lost so much sleep in trying to capture? He was trying to steal the Cards that cost me my blood, sweat, tears, and...and...

"That...can't...be," I said, staring at the wall before me. It was white. A white wall. Plain, and dull. Nothing to get excited about, nothing anyone would ever try to steal from. I cocked my head to once side. I wished I was that wall. Oh, gosh. I was becoming hysterical. But you can't blame me. I'd been living with someone I thought I hated!

"That's not the only surprise," Kero said. I looked up fearfully. What else was it about Syaoran that I needed to know? "Sakura...I don't mean to upset you. But you need to know the truth. Open the magazine. Open it up to page twenty-seven. It'll only be for your own good to read the article in it."

Slowly and reluctantly, I flipped to the page Kero had instructed me to turn to. With every page I turned I saw something that was being advertised that was really old. This was an old magazine. Oh yes. I remember this magazine. I was waiting for Tomoyo at the airport, and I had picked up this magazine to read it and brought it here with me by accident.

Once I got to page twenty-seven, I read aloud, "_Finally, Yelan Li has given birth to a beautiful baby boy, of whom her husband is just ashappy to see.Just three days old, the latest member of the Li Clan is yet to have a name. His four older sisters, Fenren, Feimei, Sheifa, and Fuutie Liare alsojust as glad as their mother that they finally haveyet anothersibling. Little doesthat tiny bundle of joy know that he is the future leader of the Li Clan, and the heir to millions of money..._"

I couldn't go on. I'd read just about enough.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran -**

Once I'd finally finished filling up the water bottle I walked back up to the elevator. I was the only person inside, so it wasn't long until I was back on the tenth floor, walking back up to the dorm. I wondered if going on the third floor instead of the fifth was such a great idea. I mean, Sakura obviously wanted me to go to the fifth because she wanted to be alone for some reason.

Oh well. I'd just tell her I remembered that there was a fountain on the thirteenth floor.

I'm just a little curious...

So what if I'm prying?

So much for Sakura being different from the other girls I've met.

Shaking that thought from my head because I didn't want to keep on thinking I could be capable of not minding my own business (so what if I'm a little full of myself?), I tried walking a little slower to the dorm...not because I was trying to stall or anything because that thought was actually starting to get to me...I just felt...a little tired. That's all.

Before placing my hand on the doorknob, my eyes began to flick back and forth across the hall. I seemed to be the only one out. And so, with one last look behind my shoulder, I pressed my ear against the door, eager to hear whatever Sakura was doing. To get some sort of clue. You can't blame me for being curious. Sakura's quite the mysterious one. She probably has this effect on a whole bunch of other people.

Suddenly, too quick for me to react, the door swung open and I almost fell forward. Standing before me was Sakura, tall and sturdy. Like she was a soldier or something. Once I regained my composure I took the time to look over her. My eyebrows furrowed. She was breathing really hard. Like she was going to cry or something. And I could've sworn I saw her eyes gleaming with tears. But what could've happened within the ten minutes I was gone?

My curiousity rising, I said, "Sakura, what's the -" I was abruptly cut off by Sakura's hand closing around mine. She had gripped it so tightly I had to hold back a gasp. She shoved me into the room so fast that I stumbled, and this time really fell forward onto the bed. I was thankful once her hand had released mine. She had a surprisingly strong grip.

"Sakura what is your problem - !" I yelled, once she had shut the door. She had this evil look on her face. Kind of like the look she gave me when we had first met, except dirtier. Was it me, or did she just transform from "Girl That Had Me So Tightly Wrapped Around Her Finger," to "Sakura - The World's Greatest Dominatrix"?

"You bastard!" She screamed, her breathing becoming faster and faster.

My eyes widened. What had I done? "Sakura, tell me what's - "

" - The matter? Oh, I'll tell you what's the matter! This is the fucking matter!" She screamed, reaching into her shirt and yanking something from her neck. It was obviously some sort of neckalace, because I had actually heard the chain break. Did she rip it off of her neck that harshly?

Sitting on her palm, was a pink key. I looked at her like she was crazy. Was that the matter? Some stupid pink key that was too ugly for her to wear around her neck? How was that my fault? It's her fault she even chose to wear it, so why the sudden outburst on me, of all people? Yell at the person who fucking made it for you!

She glared at me hard. Hell, she could've burned a whole right through my sweater if she concentrated enough. Why wasn't she speaking? I obviously had no idea what the hell I had to do with the stupid pink thing.

She rolled her eyes, and just for a second, it seemed like she had gone back to normal. Cold, and impatient. But she hadn't. She began to say something. It was...a chant of some sort. Like a summoning spell. But...she couldn't possibly know a summoning spell, could she? She didn't even know about her powers, right?

"...Release!" She yelled suddenly, almost scaring the hell out of me. Out of no where, a strong gust of wind began to rise in the room, making papers fly everywhere. The top drawer of her nighstand started shaking again, except this time more vigorously. I gaped at the entire seen infront of me. I was wrong all along.

Before I knew it, the tiny pink key transformed into a large staff, and sitting beside Sakura was a yellow tiger. Well, not a tiger, but something that took the resembelence of a tiger. It was then that I realized, standing before me, was Cerberus, one of the guardians of the Clow Cards. Well, not the Clow Cards...they had been transformed by their Master - or...oh hell. Transformed by their Mistress.

"S - S - Sakura?" I began lamely, "You're...you're the Card Mistress?"

"Damn straight, I am!" She said, taking a swing at me with her staff as if it was her sword. I moved backwards just in time. The magical staff hit the bed with a large thumping sound, which only made Sakura even more angry. She missed me. Which only meant she would try again some other time.

"You bastard..." She said again, her voice cracking, "You...you're the one who was trying to steal the Cards from me? Who tried stealing the very things that made me sacrifice so much? And not to mention the heir to the fucking Li Clan? What the hell, Li!"

Her words stung like ice. There it was again...my last name. I hadn't heard her use that one on me on a long time. Was this how it was going to be, now that she knew about me? Back to our last name basis? "Sakura - " I began, only to be cut off by the swing of Sakura's staff once more. I told you she'd try again.

" - It's Kinomto to you, jackass!"

"Will you just stop and listen to me for a God dammed second? Just drop the staff...I can explain, Sakura!" I tried again, trying to reach out towards her.

With a large growl Cerberus had placed his self protectively in front of her, so that I wouldn't be able to touch her. "Don't even try," he said dangerously, not once removing his eyes from mine. Her guardians were much more over protective than I had thought.

Slowly, I got up from the bed. In just a fraction of a second, I had my sword held out in front of me, my body taking the form of a fighting stance. Sakura had only snorted behind Cerberus' shielding body. Now something was funny? Everything just seemed to be getting passed me this entire night.

"It's about time you took control like a man," Sakura said. I could sense her smirking.

"Listen, Kinomoto. I don't want to argue. Give me a chance to explain,"

Shoving Cerberus aside, she stood before me once again, taking the same stance as me, "There's nothing to explain Li. You wanted the Cards, and I bet you anything that you still do. So let's see you try and get them."

I sighed, "Kinomoto, it's kind of late. We still have classes tomorrow. Everyone is asleep."

She raised a daring eyebrow, "All the more reason to fight."

I didn't do anything. I had just stood there, matching her glare with my own. Neither of us spoke. And I didn't want to. I didn't want to provoke her more than I already was. The last thing I wanted to do was to start fighting with Sakura. So I relaxed my stance, and within a flash, my sword was gone. I thought Sakura would've done the same after I had basically claimed a draw. She didn't. All she did was taunt me more.

"Too scared to fight, Li?" She asked, "Afraid to lose to a girl?"

"No," I simply said, though my anger was starting to rise.

"Then what's holding you back?"

I glared at her. Now she was really starting to piss me off. I tried to explain myself. To give her my side of this whole thing. But she refused. And now she was trying to start a fight? Well, then. If she wanted a fight, then that was exactly what she would get.

"Fine," I stated, looking outside the window, "But not in here. Outside. No magic. Just...us, battling it out with our own body parts. Just give me five minutes."

"Wimp," She snorted, triggering my ego.

"Fine, now. Just get outside," I said, walking towards the window and opening it for her. She finally got out of her fighting stance, but she didn't move. She looked from me to Cerberus. I rolled my eyes. What was taking her so long? She was already driving me nuts with everything that she was saying.

"Well hurry up!" I snapped, after waiting for what seemed like a year.

"After you," she said, folding her arms across her chest smugly.

"Ladies first," I shot back.

"I don't need any favours."

I took in a large breath. I hadn't known Sakura could be so aggrivating. So, just wanting to get the damn fight over with, I hopped out of the window, jumping from roof top to roof top, each one getting lower, which made me closer to the ground. Gee, I hadn't done that in a long time. It felt nice to do it.

Sakura, along with Cerberus, followed behind me. Cerberus was flying by his own wings, and to my surprise, Sakura was, too. She had obviously used the Fly Card, but I had always thought that the wings would sprout from the staff, not from her back. Not that it bothered me or anything. It just made Sakura look like an angel. And it bugged me that she could be such a bitch, yet at the same time still have me completely wrapped around her finger.

She dropped the staff onto the wet grass, just as Cerberus was about to land. The wings vanished from her back, and once again, we were back where we started: glaring hard, and in our fighting positions, ready to battle it out until the other surrendered.

"One rule," I said, before either of us started, "First one to yell 'mercy' is the loser."

"Fine by me," Sakura replied. And with that, we began.

She was the first one to make a move. She threw an angry fist at me, which caught me quite off guard. Luckily, I had caught her wrist just in time, and wrapped her arm uncomfortably behind her back, and my other arm wrapped tightly around her waist. She was struggling so much that I thought of letting her go. I actually got a little scared when I heard Cerberus growl from the side.

"Will you just listen to me?" I said, as she struggled on.

Elbowing me hard in the ribs, I nearly doubled over. Once out of my grasp, she got into a very low sitting position and swiped the grass with her legs, knocking me over onto my back, "I don't listen to thieves!" She cleverly shot back, getting on top of me so that she was basically straddling me. She tried throwing another punch. Just like last time, I'd caught it.

"I didn't even steal your precious Cards!" I yelled back, twisting her arm so that I got her to cry out in pain. I pushed up against her, and soon, I was the one on top. Cerberus had growled again from the side. Sakura probably told him not to interfere. Which was good, because then it wouldn't have been a fair fight.

"But you tried, and you wanted them!" She replied, reaching out her hands so that they had hold of my neck. She didn't squeeze too hard, she didn't want to kill me. And besides, if she cut off my air circulation I wouldn't be able to yell "mercy" like she wanted me to.

"You don't know that!" I answered angrily, getting her to get her hands off of my neck. She somehow managed to shove me off of her, and without hesitation, we both stood up, back in our fighting positions, "Hell, Sakura, you don't even know the half of it!" I yelled again, waiting for her to make her move.

"I don't even want to! All I know is that you're the one that tried stealing my Cards! MY Cards! Hell, even when I was deemed Card Mistress you still tried stealing them, just because I hadn't transformed all of them yet! And what do you want to bet that you just coincidentally have all but one class with me, and are my roommate, huh? You were trying to steal them again, weren't you?"

She had gotten the worst of me once she yelled that. She was still accusing me of being a thief, although it was kind of true. I tried stealing the Cards from her, but I never even got to them in the end. And it really was a coincidence that I have basically all my classes with her, and that I'm her roommate! She even had the nerve to taunt me about being scared to fight a girl. Hell, this has to be the first time I've ever hurt one since I've had training with Meiling! She actually made me hurt a girl!

Deciding that, that was the last straw, I sprinted towards her, making her move backwards just as quickly as I was moving forwards. In just five seconds I had her backed up against a tree, my right hand keeping both her wrists together and pinning them against the trunk, my legs on either side of hers so that she wouldn't be able to hit me in the nuts.

"Will you shutup, for God's sake?" I hissed - yes, hissed, not yelled, "I didn't steal your Cards! Hell, I didn't even want them! Sure, I may have known that I was a worthy candidate to be their Master, but the real people who wanted me to be their Master was my Mother and the Elders! So don't go thinking for another damn second that I wanted those Cards, when all they ever did was double my training, aka, suffering!"

I waited for her to speak. She said nothing, although her breathing was becoming hard and raspy again. The tears were coming. I just knew it. I heard Cerberus growl even louder than before, but I ignored him, "And don't even get me started on me not telling you that I was the heir to the Li Clan! Do you honestly think that I wanted everybody around campus knowing that? So they could treat me like royalty, like I needed everything done for me like I'm too lazy to do it for myself?"

My voice echoed throughout the tiny field. Luckily, I had chosen a spot quite far from the dorm room buildings so no one heard us. Once my temper had finally died down, I sighed, and dropped my head. I closed my eyes, and took in a long breath. That's when I heard it. A whimper. My head snapped up, and just escaping from Sakura's beautiful emerald eye, was a tear.

I felt her stomach grumble. Maybe she was hungry. But immediately after I thought that, she whispered, "Mercy...let me go," I didn't. I was just too shocked to hear the words coming from her mouth. But then she said it again, this time sounding more urgent than ever. Once I did, I held her at arms length, and looked her over. To make sure she wasn't hurt. But she wriggled out of my arms before I could even take a proper glance.

"Sakura, wait!" I screamed, running after her. She grabbed her staff which was just beside Cerberus. I could tell he was about to speak. About to ask her why she had said "mercy." I thought she was going to answer, but instead, she took off with the staff, leaving both Cerberus and me confused.

"Sakura!" I said again, almost catching up to her, "Wait!"

"Dash!" She screamed, a Card coming out of no where. In just a single second, her running pace increased by what seemed like a million, and she bolted out of my sight like some sort of bullet, before I could even get the chance to tell her that I was sorry.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Sakura -**

I was safe. Where no one could see, or her me. Far from both Syaoran and Cerberus. I couldn't let them see me like this. Yes, that's right. After Syaoran had finally made the point that he was trying to make all along, I felt both guilty, and angry. Still just a little angry at him for not telling me all those things, but mostly angry at myself for not letting me here his side of this whole thing.

My breathing came out in short, quick gasps. The flicker seemed to be occuring more often now. I couldn't let that happen. But it was. My stomach disappeared and reappeared again and again. I surpressed a scream. I couldn't risk letting out a flee's whisper of sound. Syaoran had already had his maximum amount of close encounters with me in this state.

I held my breath until it stopped. Just as my face was starting to grow purple, the flickering had died down, and my stomach was where it was supposed to be. A placed a hand on top of my belly button and sighed. I felt my stomach move out. I wouldn't let the flicker happen again. At least not until a very long time from now. I was already risking too much.

With one last glance behind me, I began walking out of my hiding place. Out onto the wet grass, the brightly shining moon the only thing helping me back to my dorm room. I wondered if Syaoran would be there. He couldn't have actually waited for me, could he?

My question was soon to be answered. Out from the shadows of the nearest building, Syaoran jumped from the roof, and landed right beside me. I gasped and my eyes widened. He scared the living hell out of me. If the moon hadn't been shining on him that moment, I would've thought he was some robber, and kicked his ass.

"What the hell was that for?" I said, still a little shocked from what had just happened.

"Now what are you mad at me for?" He replied, keeping a steady pace beside me.

I mentally scolded myself. I had just yelled at him again. I was surprised he was still even walking beside me. I thought I would've used up all his patience by now. So, instinctively, I began walking faster, out of his reach. He, too, only sped up to catch up to me.

"Don't even think about using another Card," he stated, just as I was thinking about using the Dash Card again, "Because I've got a few tricks up my sleeve if you try pulling another one of your runners." He held up four slips of paper with Chinese writing on them. Those were obviously his type of "Cards". Eriol had taught me a little Chinese. One of the slips of paper read "Lightning," I noticed.

We walked in silence, in the direction back to our dorm. Neither of us knew what to say, me especially. So I waited until he had something in mind. I didn't need to hold my breath, "I hope you're not angry with me still."

This time, I was even more shocked than last time, "You? Angry at me? Gee, Syaoran...if anything, you're the one that has the right to be angry here. This...this is a little hard for me to say, but I'm...I'm really sorry. I should've listened to what you had to say. And if it means anything to you, I believe you when you say that all those things were coincidence." I smiled lamely.

He raised his eyebrows, like he was thinking or something, "Hmm...Syaoran. You said my first name. Does this mean we're back on a first name basis?"

"Does this mean that you're not angry at me, and you accept the fact that I'm the Card Mistress and have magical powers of my own?"

"I could ask you the same thing...excluding the part about being the Card Mistress," he added clumsily at the end. I laughed.

"I asked you first,"

"Thanks for stating the obvious."

"Could you just answer the question?" I asked impatiently, though I was smiling through and through.

"Hmm...It seems like we both already have." He replied, he, too smiling just as broadly as me.

I began to think. It's true. He was right. Throughout our whole time talking, we had been smiling, and talking like friends again. So we really had forgiven each other, without really saying it, which I thought was really cool.

When we reached our dorm building, he opened the door for me. I raised my eyebrows and smirked. I didn't go inside. I thought that I would just...play for a few minutes.

"Well hurry up!" Syaoran said, still smiling just as broadly as ever.

"After you,"

"Ladies first,"

"I don't need any favours,"

"You know, this could go on forever."

"You don't want to play?"

"Maybe some other time...like, tomorrow night?"

I grinned evilly, "Maybe some other time."

With that, I entered the building, Syaoran trailing along behind me. Luckily, he couldn't see my face. Was that really me, back there? Was I really flirting? And did Syaoran really just ask me out on a date? And what surprised me most was that I turned him down. That had to be a first for Syaoran. But like everyone says, there's a first time for everything, right?

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**Be opinionated! Read and Review :)**

**Wishing You A Safe and Enjoyable Halloween,  
**Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent xD_


	8. Enough to Give You a Heart Attack

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty! _

Disclaimer: I don't own squat, so if you're thinking I own squat, I don't. Because I already told you. I don't own squat :-).

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
**bold font -** point of view  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Now...on with chapter eight!

**Enough to Give You a Heart Attack**

**Sakura -**

It's funny when you think about it. I've always been able to hide the flicker, without any problem. I always thought it'd be hard, but it never was. But there was always a price. If hiding the flicker was going to be easy, then I would have to make one of the biggest sacrifices of my entire life life.

Sadly enough for you, you don't get to find out what exactly that sacrifice is yet.

But as I'm sure I've mentioned before, hiding the flicker has gotten harder and harder to accomplish, since the moment Syaoran Li (a.k.a., Xiao-Lang Li as I now know) has entered my dull, unorganized life. He's been bringing out the best side of me (if I still have one of course), and no one's been able to do that...not for a very long time. He's been getting me to flirt, to not be as snappy as I was before. I always knew there was something about him. But what?

I also thought it was pretty funny when I began to think about the fact that Syaoran knew more about the flicker than Kero did. Kero never suspected a thing, which was always a bonus for me. But one day, all my privacy with the flicker began to crumble. The tiniest comment from Syaoran about me not being able to breathe would automatically trigger Kero's curiousity, without a doubt.

It had all started like this: the day was fair, and the sun was sitting quietly behind a cloud. It was the day after Syaoran and I had our biggest blow-up to date, and believe it or not, everything was okay between us. Not that you should be surprised or anything, because after all, we eventually did clear the air between us before we entered the dorm the other day.

Spring Break was just around the corner - the very next day, in fact. We had all finished our exams and everything, and for the last week before it was time to party, we were all just given normal assignments to do - however, our English Assignment wasn't a normal one. It was like a final project, instead of a exam. I would've much rather liked an exam, anything to get me out of work during Spring Break, but Professor Milo was a smart one.

"Thank God Spring Break is tomorrow," I sighed, dumping my backpack onto the floor and kicking off my shoes. Syaoran entered the dorm just behind me, throwing the keys onto the nearest table. Kero, we found, was gazing lazily outside the window. Surpisingly enough, he had acted as though everything were okay also. Not that I'm saying they didn't throw an insult every now and then, but everything seemed to be alright between them.

"Hi Kero," Syaoran greeted, taking a seat on his bed and taking off his coat. Kero nodded to him and flew beside me, and let his head rest on my stomach. I patted his stomach, as if he was a dog and not a mystical creature that guarded the Sakura Cards.

"What were you doing staring our the window like that?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Don't know. Just got bored waiting for you two to come back from classes. Did you bring me a treat?"

I shoved him off of me as I began stretching, preparing for an hour long nap, "I don't know," I replied, my voice becoming muffled because I had buried my head in the nearest pillow, "Check in my backpack. There might be something in there for you to eat."

"Hmm. You'd think he'd get diabetes from eating so much unhealthy food," Syaoran stated from his lying position on his bed. He lay flat on his back, his arms raised and his hands cupping the back of his head.

"Was that supposed to be a rude comment?" Kero replied, his head shooting up from my backpack to look at Syaoran.

I could just sense that single corner of Syaoran's mouth raising upward, to form that damn sexy smirk of his that I hated so much, "No. Just a normal comment about your health. I can't help it if I'm concerned, Kero." Syaoran said, a slight bit of sarcasm in his voice.

Kero flew up beside me once more. I was no longer in the mood for an hour long nap. Their arguing had ruined it for me. So I sat up, ready to referee the fight that was about to take place, "You know what else is pretty unhealthy?" Kero asked, folding his arms across his chest in an angry sort of manner, "Lying!"

"Oh please!" Syaoran said, rolling his eyes all the way to the back of his head, "Don't give me another speech about how I should've told Sakura about my background and all that stuff. In fact, why don't you go lecture her instead of me?" My eyebrows raised, and as much as I regretted doing so, I joined the conversation.

"Wait, wait! Don't try and get me involved. This is between you and Kero."

"Why should I lecture Sakura?" Kero answered, as if I had never spoken.

"Well, let's see, she never told me anything about her magical powers either, and her difficulty with breathing! What's with that?"

Silence filled the room. Syaoran's face still had that angry impression on it, and Kero's was replaced with a confused one. My eyes darted from side to side as I began to rack my brain for the best excuse I could use. An interrogation was about to take place, I just knew it. Stupid Syaoran! Never knew when to keep his mouth shut.

Kero turned to me, his eyes narrowing with suspicion, "What breathing problem is he talking about, Sakura?"

I stared blankly at him for only God knows how long. As quickly as I could, I stood up and walked over to sit beside Syaoran. Kero's eyes followed me as I did so. I hated being watched. "What breathing problem?" I asked lamely, even though I knew Syaoran would be stupid and not put his foot far down his throat like I wanted him to. "I have none."

"Right," Syaoran replied, raising a sarcastic eyebrow, "What about that time by the cherry blossom tree, when I was bugging you to come with me to Mai's party? Your breath went all raspy and stuff."

I smiled inwardly. I had a perfectly good excuse! "That was the first time I'd felt your aura, idiot!"

"Oh yeah?" He said, eager to come back with another time to recall my heavy breathing, "What about the day you found out that guy tried to rape you? You were holding your stomach, as if you couldn't breathe, and I heard you take in that big breath, like you were in pain."

"What the hell, Syaoran?" I said, trying to stall, "Do you remember everything that happens to me?"

"Don't ignore the question," Kero chimed, his eyes still narrowed.

I turned to glare at Syaoran. As silently as I could so that Kero wouldn't see, I wrapped my fingers around Syaoran's arm, and squeezed as tightly as I could. It was very hard for mot not to laugh when I had heard Syaoran's strained cry of pain. But he shook it off with a stiff smile.

"Silly Syaoran, don't be such a brown noser. For your information..." I said hesitantly. I felt my cheeks grow warm with every word I spoke, "I was...I was having...girl problems those days." I glued my eyes to the floor. I didn't want to watch as Syaoran stuck out a tongue in disgust and as Kero did the same thing.

"Okay, okay I get the picture!"

My stiff shoulders relaxed as I sighed in relief. "Gosh, you guys are such goofs," I replied, hitting Syaoran over the head with a pillow, only making a bigger mess of his chocolate brown hair.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran -**

Getting used to the fact that Sakura had magical powers wasn't as hard for me to get used to as I thought it'd be. I mean, all I really had to do was act like I did before, kind of like normal. It's not like either of us ever used or talked about our magical powers anyway. Ever since I was set free from my mother's suffocating hold onto me, I hadn't done anything related to magic. Until last night, of course.

I had gotten all my exams and everything finished with a few days earlier. The rest of the teachers just gave us pointless homework to do. Afterall, Spring Break was only a day away. None of us felt the need to do it, except for Sakura, of course. But she'd finished that. The only homework I really had to do over the break was to finish that stupid ten thousand word essay about her.

If you ask me, Professor Milo's pretty stupid. Who gives us homework over the break? Everyone really hates him for it. But I'm actually kind of glad he gave us that assignment. Ironically enough, that assignment helped me get to know Sakura, you know, helped me crack her shell a little. She'd told me so much things about her in the last three days I could almost garauntee that I knew Sakura better than Tomoyo. Almost, anyway.

But even though I've been getting to know her, I still feel like she's hiding something from me. I don't know what it is, though. At least that weird thing with her breathing was explained. I didn't want to have to be there to panic my ass off, wondering what was wrong with her if that weird breathing thing happened again. If that's really what girls go through during that time of month, I'm glad I'm a guy.

"So," I began, just minutes after Sakura hit me over the head with one of her pillows, "you planning to go anywhere for Spring Break?"

"Yeah, actually. Tomoyo and I were thinking of going to China to visit her boyfriend Eri -- " she said, just before Kero interrupted her. Even though I was already used to the fact that Sakura had magical powers, I was still having a hard time trying to process the fact in my mind that she had the most annoying stuffed animal in the world.

"Tomoyo's still dating that dweeb?" Kero said, inserting a chip into his mouth. I see that he finally found that bag of chips in Sakura's backpack.

"He's not a dweeb, Kero. He's nice, and handsome, and smart. And plus, Tomoyo loves him. As childhood best friend since forever, I think I can tell when Tomoyo is dating a dweeb or not, thank you very much!"

I chuckled from my end of the room, "As you were saying?"

"Well," she began once again, "me and Tomoyo are headed off to China to see her boyfriend. It's actually just for the both of them, but of course Tomoyo wanted me to come with her. I can't wait. China's going to be a blast. And what do you know? I might end up seeing your famous sisters or mother pulling up in a limosine beside us!" she joked.

I gave her a dirty glare, "Ha, ha. That was so funny I almost forgot to laugh."

She smiled brightly at me in return. "What about you, Mr. Sarcasm? Where are you going for Spring Break?"

I shrugged, "No where. I'm staying here."

Sakura's jaw almost reached to the floor, "You can't be serious! You don't want to be cooped up here the entire time everyone is off having fun, do you?"

I shrugged again, "I don't know. I've waited for college for so long just so I could stay away from China, so I'm definitely not visitting home. But, Mai's staying here too, though. I heard she's holding another one of her great parties," I joked, only to get even with Sakura. If looks could kill, I probably would've been dead.

"Don't even joke about that," she said grimly.

"Call it even?" I said, putting on that sly smirk that I know she can't stand.

"Fine." She replied, stretching out her arm so she could shake hands with me. "But anyway, promise me you won't be locked up inside our dorm the entire break, working on that stupid ten thousand word essay Milo gave us. Please promise me you'll try to have some fun? Safe fun?" She added.

I smiled suspiciously at her, "Why do you care whether or not I have fun?"

She stared at me for a while. "Why did you care whether or not I got my load of pointless homework done?" Was her answer. I nodded. Yeah, I guess she made a point there.

"Alright, alright. I'll try. But speaking of which, we should still try to get some more information out of each other to try and finish that essay."

"Yeah, you're right. So? Let's get started!"

_**xxxxxx**_

"What other question can I ask you?" Sakura asked, both of us totally bored. We'd already gotten basically all the information we needed, but we wanted just a little bit more, just in case we couldn't fit ten thousand words about one another into our essay. Sadly, all the interesting information had been told in our first class. Now it seemed like with everything we said, we just got duller and duller.

"I hope not," I answered, "or I'm pretty sure I'm going to die of boredom."

As Sakura laughed on her side of the room, we heard a knock on the door. "Guys? Guys, let me in, it's me, Tomoyo!" She began knocking on the door harder and the knocks came quicker after each pound. Sakura held her index finger to her lips, as she grasped my shoulder with her free arm.

"Shh!" She hissed, pushing me downwards onto the ground so that we were both crouching.

"Sakura, what's your problem? It's just Tomoyo, might I remind you, your best friend?" I replied, getting up to walk to the door. Hastily, Sakura got up and took both of my shoulders, pushing me downard once more. My eyebrows furrowed together, "Sakura, what do you think you're doing?" I asked, tried to get up once more.

"No!" She whispered, "You don't understand! We're leaving tomorrow and I haven't packed yet. You don't know Tomoyo like I do. She'll yell at me, and Syaoran, believe me when I say you don't know how loud she can get. She's aggressive!"

"Sakura, I'm pretty sure I can handle Tomoyo," I said, raising a sarcastic eyebrow. And within seconds, Sakura was straddling me, holding one hand over my mouth. This was Sakura's dominatrix side, which really scared me. "What are you doing?" I screamed, though my voice was muffled because of her hand.

Sakura opened her mouth to speak when suddenly, the door opened. Tomoyo stood there, her eyes wide as coins and her jaw touching the floor. She dropped the key she was holding in her hand, and covered her mouth with her other hand. In less than a second, Sakura was off of me and we were both standing, hands behind backs, eyes glued to our feet.

"What in the world...?" Tomoyo began, not able to finish her sentence. There was a smirk upon her face, and she was giving Sakura a suspicious look. I looked from girl to girl, trying to figure out what was going on between them. You know girl best friends. They have those silent conversations that boys can never seem to understand.

Sakura shook her head, a disgusted look creeping onto her face in return, kind of like a reply to Tomoyo. She grabbed the nearest pillow and chucked it at her, only causing Tomoyo to burst out laughing, closing the door behind her so people wouldn't think that she had finally gone crazy.

"Shutup," Sakura exclaimed, chucking another pillow at her friend, creating yet another mess on the floor, "How the heck did you get in here anyway? I don't remember giving you a key." She questioned, picking up the one that had fallen from Tomoyo's hands when she came into the dorm.

"You don't remember telling me where the spare key was in case there was an emergency, either?" Tomoyo asked, the last of her giggles escaping from her mouth.

Sakura sighed loudly. I was still very confused. "Something you needed, Tomoyo?" I asked, moving onto my bed, as far away from both girls as I could possibly get. I watched as Tomoyo looked around the room, and suddenly began to go through drawers. I knew what was coming next.

"Sakura Kinomoto!" She bellowed, crawling on all fours and grabbing the suitcase that was beneath Sakura's bed. I almost laughed when I saw Sakura cover her ears, afraid of what Tomoyo might say next, "You mean to tell me you haven't packed yet? We are going to China tomorrow, and you're not even ready? Are you trying to ruin this for me?"

"No, no," Sakura said, opening all the drawers of the clothing cabinet and throwing out every bit of clothing she had. "See? I'm getting ready right now. Packing all of my stuff, all the essential shit. Are you happy now, Tomoyo? Gosh."

"No, I am not happy!" She said, ripping the clothes from Sakura's grasp, "You're not even doing it neatly! Honestly, Sakura, how long have you known me? I should think that you'd know that I'm a neat freak by now..." I looked at Sakura sympathetically as Tomoyo ranted on about what Sakura had and had not done. No wonder she didn't want me to open the door.

I shook my head, laughing. Suddenly, Sakura's cellphone began to ring. Tomoyo's head snapped backwards into the direction of her cellphone as Sakura went to get it, "No!" She shrieked, getting to the cellphone before Sakura and handing it to me. "We're busy right now. We are taking no calls."

"Who says?" Sakura screamed, making a grab for the cellphone. I yanked it away from her, as she crossed her arms across chest and put on a pout. I smiled and went to the farthest part of the room to answer her call, so that I wouldn't hear Tomoyo and Sakura arguing.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hello?" Another voice replied, a man's voice. He was obviously confused. "Uh...this is Sakura's cellphone, right? Because if it's not, I'm sorry if I called the wrong..."

"Oh, no," I said, before the man could finish his sentence, "This is her cellphone. She's just really busy right now. Can I take a message?" I asked obediently.

"Actually, no, she can't. This is important. And who are you, anyway?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. What was with the attitude? "I'm her roommate. Whose this?"

"None of your business." He replied. I was trying really hard to hold my temper, "Just give the phone to Sakura, okay? This is really important. I know she'll want to talk to me."

"Well maybe if you told me who you were, I could -- "

"Listen, kid, just give her the phone!"

"Alright, alright," I said, walking over to Tomoyo and Sakura. I held out the phone to Sakura, covering one half of the phone with my palm so the guy on the other line wouldn't be able to hear. "Some guy wants to talk to you. He says it's really important. By the way, when you're on the phone with him, can you tell him to check his attitude?" I added sarcastically.

Tomoyo took hold of the cellphone once more. "No, Sakura isn't taking any calls. Whatever it is, it can't be more important than what we're doing. Now go back to your little corner, and do what I said!" Tomoyo demanded, now showing her dominatrix side. My eyes took the shape of two round coins, amazed at how controlling Tomoyo really was.

"Er, sorry," I said into the phone, "Like I said, Sakura can't take any calls right now. But if you want, you can tell me what you want to tell her and I'll -- "

"Alright, fine," the voice on the other line said, obviously frustrated and angry, "When Sakura has the time, tell her that her brother called. Her dad just had a heart attack and is in the hopsital. Oh yeah, make sure to tell her that he's not doing too well either, got that? Thanks." He said quickly, his sentence dripping with bitterness. He hung up before I could even reply.

Shocked, I slowly closed her flip phone. I walked over to Sakura, and watched as the two were packing. I didn't know how to break it to her, so I stared at the floor. Sakura snapped me out of my revery when she had asked who it was. Slowly, I handed the cellphone to her, and began to think of how I'd tell her.

"Err...Sakura," I began, bringing my hands together, to hide their perspiration, "That was your brother on the phone."

Both Tomoyo and Sakura stopped packing once they'd heard that. "Oh yeah?" She asked, "And what did he say?"

I was silent for a while. "Sakura...your dad just had a heart attack. He's in the hospital and apparently isn't doing all that great. I'm...I'm so sorry." I said, not able to see how Sakura reacted, because her face had slowly gone downard to look at the floor.

"Sakura..." Tomoyo began, moving closer towards Sakura and wrapping her arms around her shoulders, "I'm so sorry. If I knew that was your brother on the phone, I never would've -- "

Without letting Tomoyo finish, Sakura loosened herself from her embrace and walked out of the dorm, slamming the door shut behind her. Tomoyo and I stared, not knowing what else to do. "We should probably leave her alone," Tomoyo suggested, beginning to pack the rest of her things. "She needs to see him. I guess we're not going to China afterall."

"You're...not?" I asked, confused.

"Of course not, dummy. My best friend's dad is in the hospital. She's needs to see him and I'm going with her." She explained.

I shook my head. "Tomoyo...really, that's not necessary. From what I hear, you've been waiting a long time to see your boyfriend. And God knows, you deserve it. I mean you've been job hunting in Canada. You need some time off with your boyfriend."

Tomoyo hesitated. "Syaoran...no. I can't! It's not that simple. Sakura's my best friend. I can't just let her go and see her dad in the hospital, and not be with her. I need to be there to support her, because knowing Sakura, she'll break down crying. Well, actually, I'm not so sure of that...I haven't seen her cry in so long..."

"Tomoyo, that's not important. Just finish packing Sakura's stuff for tomorrow. You're going to see your boyfriend in China, and that's final. Got it?"

"Syaoran, I can't -- !"

"Yes, yes you can." I said, not willing to quit.

"Oh yeah? And why not?"

"Because...because I'll go with her."

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**Be greaaaat! Read and review, kidddies! **x).

Signing Off,  
Agent 08 - _My life as a secret agent! _x)


	9. Welcome Home, Sakura

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the plot, thanks!

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions  
**bold font -** point of view

Now...on with chapter nine!

**Welcome Home, Sakura**

**Sakura -**

"Your dad just had a heart attack..." Those seven words echoed in my head, over and over again. After I heard the news that Syaoran got from my brother, my face had paled. All the colour in my body rushed out of me. Without a word, I ran to the Girls Comfort Room. I peaked my head into the room and managed to say hello, just to make sure no one was there.

When I was given no reply, I locked the door, and then the lock on one of the stalls, even though I knew no one would be coming in. I liked to cry in small places. The tears came pouring down my face without anymore hesitation. They were creating this river that got bigger and bigger with every tear that came, forming this ocean that contained all of my pain. I was drowning in it.

I held my stomach tightly, knowing what would happen next. "Please..." I said to no one in particular, my voice just barely above a whisper, "Please...no!" I shook my head, back and forth, and my eyes shut tight. My arms were no longer holding my stomach, but fading from appearance and then back again. Just like what my stomach had done.

This time it took the flickering unusually longer to stop. When it did, I came out of the stall and walked over to a sink. I placed one hand on either side of it, and watched as the rest of my tears rolled off of my face and into the sink, down the drain. I lifted my head up from the mirror. What I saw infront of me was a mess. Red eyes, runny nose, salty cheeks. Where had the shine in my eyes gone to?

Hastily I turned the tap on the sink and cupped my hands beneath the cold water. I splashed the cool liquid onto my face, hoping to relieve my eyes of their redness. It did not. I tried this again for another few minutes before realizing that it was hopeless trying to get rid of the evidence that I had cried. So with one last look in the mirror, and a deep sigh of sorrow, I headed back to my dorm.

Once I entered through the door I knew that there would be tension. Tomoyo, being my best friend since the beginning of time, probably knew already that I didn't want to be spoken to. But I didn't know about Syaoran. He'd only been living with me for a few months. My first guess would be that he'd rush up to me, and probably say how many times he was sorry over and over again. I wish he wouldn't.

Still, not knowing what to expect from either of them, I opened the door to the dorm. I came in to see Tomoyo, still packing my things, and Syaoran...packing his? I slowly entered the room, eyeing each of them as if they were up to no good. They stared back at me as if I was a ticking bomb.

"Syaoran..." I began, my eyes darting back and forth from his half empty suitcase, back at my own almost full one, "I thought you said you weren't going anywhere for the Spring Break?"

With his hands around a piece of clothing, it stopped in mid-air as he was about to place it inside his suitcase. He looked over to Tomoyo, who was staring back at him. They were both in the same position. I raised an eyebrow. "I'm expecting an answer this lifetime, just so you know," I stated, once he hadn't answered me.

"Well..." Syaoran began, now taking the piece of clothing and putting it inside, "While you were...out, Tomoyo and I kind of talked our Spring Break plans over." He paused to look at Tomoyo. She nodded encouraginly towards him. "Anyway, after getting the...news, she said something about not being able to go to China anymore -- "

"What?" I shrieked, interrupting Syaoran, "What do you mean you can't go to China anymore? Who says?" I waited for a reply from Tomoyo. She looked at me as if I were stupid.

"You're my best friend, Sakura, and your dad is in the hospital. It's kind of obvious you need to see him, and I can't just let you go off to see your sick dad without being there to support you just incase -- "

"No!" I yelled once more, "You're not coming with me to visit my dad. You're going to visit your boyfriend. I'm not going to let you ruin all your plans for the break just to come with me to visit my dad. That's completely unfair to you."

"And, I know," Syaoran said, jumping in once more before Tomoyo could reply, "I said the same thing. But the both of us know that you shouldn't be going back to your hometown to visit your dad alone. Which is why we decided..."

Syaoran's voice trailed off and did not continue. "Decided what?" I said expectantly.

"Which is why we decided -- " Tomoyo chimed, trying to finish Syaoran's sentence.

"That I'd go with you," in the end, Syaoran was the one to finish his sentence.

"That you'd go with me?" I repeated, looking at the both of them as if they were crazy, "That you'd go with me? Listen, I don't need any of you to go with me!" I felt a sudden rush of anger take over my body. Not a large one, but an annoyed kind of anger. "Who said that I even needed anyone to go with me? I'm a big girl, okay? And if I want to visit my dad alone, I will!"

Silence filled the room. Both Syaoran and Tomoyo were looking at their feet. I shook my head and sighed. Slowly, I raised both of my index and middle fingers together and brought them up to each of my temples, and rubbed lightly. "I'm sorry," I said, "I know you guys are only trying to help. But the next time you try and decide what's best for me, could you at least try to include me?"

Both laughed at my sarcasm. The tension had been lifted, and within our silence we had all agreed on the plan that they had made without me, with no use of any words. "And it'll all work out, too!" Syaoran said, continuing to pack his things now that the plan was settled, "Because when we're together on the break, we can work on Milo's essay."

"True," I said, walking over to Tomoyo and taking a seat on the bed. I grabbed her hand and held it. "Touya's not gonna like this..." I said to her, knowing she'd understand why he wouldn't, because of the look in my eyes. It was a girl best friend kind of thing that guys never understood.

"Screw it," she said simply, handing me my cellphone. We all knew what I had to do.

Turning my head to both Syaoran and Tomoyo before I began to dial, they smiled at me reassuringly. I took one last sigh before I punched in the digits that I hadn't used in such a long time. I closed my eyes the moment the ringing began. On the other side of the phone, a manly, rich voice spoke. My eyes opened as they glassed over with this nostalgic kind of feeling.

"Hello, Touya? It's me, Sakura..."

_**xxxxxx**_

I shut my eyes tightly as I brought my arms around Tomoyo's neck. I buried my nose in her long, navy blue hair, taking in that scent of violets that was so familiar. I felt her do the same as she gave me one last squeeze. "Try to have fun over there," she said, holding me at arms length, "And give my love to your dad."

"For sure," was my only reply. Syaoran stood behind us, silently waiting for his turn. I stepped to one side to let them hug and say their goodbyes.

"Take care of her," I heard Tomoyo say in a whisper, just before being interrupted by a woman's voice over one of the speakers, "Last call for passengers on Flight 51! Last call for all boarding passengers!" She said. Tomoyo nodded sadly and walked over to me.

"When is your flight taking off?" She asked, bringing the shoulder strap of her bag around her left shoulder. I told her in about thirty minutes. She nodded, giving me one last hug. "Be safe," she said, handing her passport to the woman standing by the door. She waved in goodbye, and then she was off.

I sighed and began walking away, over to Gate 42 which was only a couple of minutes away. There, Syaoran and I would wait for another thirty minutes before we were asked to board, just as Tomoyo was. Once having arrived, we sat down on one of the many navy blue seats. I took out a book to read. I'd already called Touya, telling him what time to expect us. There was nothing else to do but wait.

"So," Syaoran began after a few minutes of sitting in silence, "What do you think your brother will do to me once we get to your house?" He asked jokingly, remembering how I'd spoken to Touya on the phone the other day. I shrugged, honestly having no idea how Touya would react.

Sure, I had told him I was bringing a friend over for the break to stay with us, but I'd never told him it was a boy. And if you knew my brother, you'd also know that he was the most over protective guy in the whole world.

"Hello, Touya? It's me, Sakura," I had said to him, twirling my finger around my hair.

His voice was bitter and nasty, "Oh, so now you have time to take calls?"

I shook my head, even though I knew he wouldn't see me, "Whatever. You didn't have to be rude on the phone you know. I was busy packing...yeah, I was going to China with Tomoyo, remember? But now that...daddy's not feeling too well, I'm coming back home for the break."

I bit the corner of my lip and glanced over at Tomoyo, who was anxiously watching me as I spoke on the phone, "Alright then. When should I be expecting you?" He asked. I heard a ruffle of papers, and knew he was writing all this down.

"Well, I'm not sure yet. I'll call you tomorrow morning when I book my flight, okay? I'll be sure to call you before I board the plane. Oh yeah, before I forget...I'm...I'm actually bringing a friend with me to stay with us at the house. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

"Nope. But they have to sleep on the couch, just so you know."

"Yeah, yeah. No problems with that."

"By the way, who was that who answered the phone?" He asked, his voice becoming angry. I looked over at Syaoran, who was busily folding his clothes and humming. I bit the corner of my lip harder, almost making me want to cry out in pain.

"Oh, uh, friend of Tomoyo's. Talk to you tomorrow. Bye, Touya!" I said hurriedly.

"Wait, kaiju -- !"

"Bye, Touya!" I said again, holding the cellphone infront of me and yelling, "And I am not a kaiju!"

I laughed, remembering how much I loved to step on his feet. Suddenly, I sensed movement to the side of my face and turned my head in that direction. Syaoran was waving his hand at me impatiently, half standing. I stood, wondering what he was doing. "Earth to Sakura? Didn't you just hear the boarding call?"

"Boarding call...?" I repeated. Had thirty minutes really gone that fast?

"Yes! Come on now, or we're going to miss our flight!"

I nodded hastily and took hold of my roller suitcase. I did all the essential things that one does before boarding an airplane, and walked the short path that lead Syaoran and me inside the airplane. We took our seats (yes, we were sitting beside each other) and strapped in our seatbelts.

I sighed. I looked out the window as the plane took off slowly. A woman's voice sounded over the entire airplane, suggesting to us that we watch the video on the screen before us. I knew what to do in case of an emergency. This wasn't my first time on a plane.

So I closed my eyes, letting my head fall to one side. I was already so tired. The woman's voice just became a flow of sound. I yawned. Then I heard Syaoran chuckle to my left. And, just before I drifted off to sleep, felt his hand close tightly around mine.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran -**

The plane rolled gently to a stop. Applause began to fill the area, for yet another successful flight that the pilot had given. As soon as we were told we could stand up and take our things from the top bins, people began to stand up and stretch. I stayed seated, still hand in hand with Sakura.

She'd been sleeping for exactly three hours and thirty two minutes - just as the plane was taking off. She'd been so tired, and yet I had no idea why. Just to try and help her sleep better, I held her hand. Hopefully, she had a good rest and had strength enough to defend me from her brother, whom we'd be meeting at the front of the airport in just a few minutes.

As a line of people began to walk past us, I decided that, that was the my cue to try and wake up Sakura. I bent my head closely to her ear, and coincidentally, took in a large whiff of cherry blossoms. I closed my eyes in delight, having no idea how Sakura got her hair to smell like this. For all I knew, she never used a shampoo that gave off this scent.

And then, I heard her voice - the very last thing that I wanted to interrupt me from smelling her hair. "Syaoran..." she mumbled, her head moving to the opposite side, that beautiful scent of cherry blossoms quickly vanishing, "Hmmm...Syaoran?" I heard her say again.

I shook my head, "Oh, Sakura. Great timing. The plane just landed. Come on, let's get out of here," I said, helping her up. I moved into the empty aisle to give her room to stretch. As she raised her arms as high as they could go, her shirt stretched upwards, revealing a little flesh. I turned away immediately, my cheeks turning a tiny shade of red.

"You okay?" She asked, moving out onto the aisle infront of me, brushing her hair against my cheek without her even noticing. My shoulders tensed, "You didn't order any alchohol while I was asleep, did you?"

"No," I said simply, reaching up into the top bin to retrieve my things. I hoped Sakura wouldn't question me any further, and luckily for me she didn't. Once we both got our things, we made our way down the aisle and through the exit of the plane, making sure we nodded our thanks to the stuardists.

The sound of the wheels on Sakura's roller suitcase became part of the hustle and bustle of the airport, as she lead the way to the front. An odd rush of cold air - no doubt the air conditioning - hit our faces, and I'd suddenly felt the need to wear a sweater. I shivered lightly and followed Sakura. This was my first time being in the Tomeoda Airport. Definitely not Sakura's. I trusted she knew where she was going.

She stopped walking just a few feet from the glass doors that we would exit through. Her eyes glazed over and I knew something was up. I walked over to her and placed my hand on her shoulder. I felt her tense a little. But slowly, she raised her hand across her chest and placed it on top of mine. She sighed.

"Nervous or something?" I asked.

"Just a little." She replied.

Now, placing my other hand on her other shoulder, I steered her towards the glass doors, "Well don't be. This is your hometown, right? You'll see your brother and your dad, possibly some old friends. You have nothing to worry about."

Just before pushing the doors, she could only stare out of them. I shook her encouragingly. A few seconds later, she nodded her head vigorously, her shoulders tensing up once again. Not in a surprised kind of way, more in a confident type, "You're right. I have nothing to be worried about! I came here to see my dad. Only my dad."

And finally, she raised her arms and pushed through the glass doors. I followed suit and caught up to her, matching her stride. We were greeted with a strong gust of wind, and the sound of moving cars and other things. People were everywhere. I knew Sakura's brother would be hard to find.

Sakura's eyes scanned the parking lot, searching for a certain car or something other than that. She seemed uneffected by the wind and the noise. I, however, was finding it hard to stand straight. The wind was very strong. And then, out of no where, I heard her gasp quietly. I looked to my left. Her mouth was slightly open, but only because she was smiling.

I turned my head into the direction of where she was looking. Just a few feet before her was a good looking guy dressed in khaki shorts and a green polo shirt with dark brown hair. His eyes were covered by a pair of black shades, and on his face, a tiny smile formed. I knew this had to be him. This had to be Touya.

Laughing, Sakura jogged up to her brother and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and whispered something into her ear, as she did to him. He was extremely tall. Just a little taller than me. Sakura had to stand on the very tips of her toes just to be at the height that she was to hug him. I left them alone for a minute or so. I didn't want to ruin the moment.

"Touya," I heard her say, once she had released him from her suffocating hold, "It's been too long,"

"You said it, kaiju," was his reply. I chuckled from behind. I wasn't exactly an expert in the Japanese language, but I knew that kaiju meant monster. What a clever name to call the sister he was so over protective of.

My chuckle caught his attention. I stopped immediately. He slipped off his shades and glared at me. He gave Sakura a suspicious kind of look and all she could do was laugh nervously. She stepped to the side to let me forward. Once reaching the two I held out a hand, my face now solemn. Touya's eyes moved downard to stare at my hand, as if it disgusted him.

"Er, Touya," Sakura said, "This is the friend that I was telling you about. The friend that I told you was going to stay with us?"

"Syaoran Li," I said, as he took my hand. His grip was firm and strong, quite like mine. He continued to glare, "You might not remember me. I'm the one that answered the phone when you called. Her roommate,"

He glanced over to Sakura who was twiddling her thumbs and staring at the ground, "A friend of Tomoyo's, huh?" He said. I had no idea what he was talking about.

We walked over to the car and put our things inside the trunk. Once we were seated in the car, I remained silent as Sakura and her brother talked non-stop. They talked about the most ridiculous things, and half the time he was just teasing her, telling her how much of a monster she was. There was actually a few times when she almost caused us to have an accident when she tried to stomp on his feet.

There was also a few times when Touya looked up into the rear view mirror to look at me. Not surprisingly, he still had that glare on, but whenever he spoke to his sister his glare would always fade and be replaced by this gentleness that I knew he would never use on me. I just shrugged it off. Sakura warned me about this, so I knew not to take it personally.

I hadn't even noticed when we arrived at her former house. I was too busy looking out from the other window when the car had suddenly stopped running. I swung the car door open and got my things from the trunk. As Sakura and Touya made their way towards the front door I stayed put, staring up at the house she used to call home.

It was a normal brown colour, almost like Sakura's hair. Just by looking at it, I knew it was just a two story house. There were lots of plants surrounding it, giving it a very happy go-lucky kind of appearance. There was a swing set and a bench sitting on top of the green grass, just swaying lightly with the wind. The wind had died down since we entered the car and soon became a dull breeze.

I entered the house. To my left was the living room and kitchen, and to my right was her dad's office. I walked forward and dropped my things. To my right was a short flight of stairs. I saw Sakura's figure vanish from sight as she yelled from the top of the stairs, "Hey, I'm going to use the bathroom! Just wait for me downstairs to give you the grand tour, Syaoran!" She hollered.

I nodded and picked up my things once more. The house was silent. That was until her brother had walked into the living room, obviously walking towards me. I set down my things once more, hoping to try and have a civil conversation with the guy. "So, I just wanted to tell you -- "

"I really don't care what you have to tell me," he said, cutting me off short. Surprise, surprise - he was still glaring at me, "Unless what you were about to tell me was that you really aren't my sister's roommate, and that you really aren't the son of Yelan Li and heir to the Li Clan."

My eyebrows furrowed, "How did you -- "

"What are you, deaf?" He said, flicking me on the side of the head, "My sister told me all of this stuff in the car. She was whispering, but I thought someone like you would've heard her telling me all of this." I had no idea how to reply, so I stayed silent.

"Listen, I don't care if you're the heir to millions of dollars and all that other crap. But you stay away from my sister, is that clear? I don't want to see you going anywhere near her with those nasty lips of -- "

My temper began to rise. "Okay, if you would just give me a second to talk, you'd know that I'm only your sister's friend. _Friend_. You'd also know that my coming here to accompany Sakura to see her dad has nothing to do with however much money I'm heir to. I came here for one reason, and that reason was not to fool around with your sister." I hoped he would sense the sense of dismissal in my voice, and at the same time I hoped I wouldn't get beat up for what I said.

After a few minutes of just glaring, Touya finally spoke, "You've got guts, kid."

At that moment, Sakura came bounding down the stairs. She walked over to me, obviously not sensing the tension that was between her brother and me. She picked up my things and brought it over to the couch while Touya and I stayed in position, glaring.

"You want to help me unpack, Syaoran?" I heard her ask. I didn't answer. Touya only shook his head and began walking up the steps. Within a few seconds he was gone. I sighed. At least I knew he wouldn't be bugging me about Sakura anymore.

"Fine, if you don't want to you could've said so," she said simply. I had completely forgotten to answer her. Even though I didn't mind helping her, I still didn't answer. I had to unpack my stuff, too! Sakura slowly made her way up the steps again, to her room. When I turned my back, I noticed that a bed had been unfolded from the couch and my things were on top of it, along with clean sheets.

"Hey!" I yelled, "You never said I was going to sleep on the couch!"

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**Be the greatest person I'll ever know! Read and Review, please! **

Signing Off,  
Agent08 _- My life as a secret agent _xD


	10. The Life She Used to Live

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS or any of it's characters. All I have is my pride, which I'm selling for a buck. Any takers? x)

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts/exaggerated words  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions  
**bold font -** point of view

Now...on with chapter ten!

**The Life She Used to Live**

**Syaoran -**

After our little "meeting" that afternoon, Touya and I were sure to steer clear of each other the rest of the day, at least I was. We'd only spoken to each other if it was necessary, like at dinner, when I asked him to pass the salt, making sure to add a please and thank you. He never said your welcome. Yup, besides the glaring that he and I were still doing, we were on pretty okay terms.

After Sakura had given me the grand tour of her house, all we really did was unpack and shower. She showed me her room, her dad's former room, and her brother's former room. Touya was no longer living at home, but in the apartment above the popular restaraunt which he owned. He moved back just a couple of days ago just to take care of the house while his father was gone.

Sakura also showed me the tiny, boarded up library where she had found The Book of Clow. There were ancient, ancient books in there (when I say ancient, I mean old. Very old.) which her father had no doubtedly found on his archeological trips all over the world. Sakura had told me that when I had interviewed her a while back.

It took us until kind of late in the evening to finish unpacking. Then we took the showers I said we had, and had dinner. Dinner was quiet, excluding Sakura's non-stop talk about what she and I had been up to at the college. The English Essay, and the fights we had but had eventually solved (Touya's face had gone purple and rock hard). She hadn't mentioned the one we had the night I found out she was Card Mistress. He obviously didn't know.

Once we all had finished eating, I politely offered to wash the dishes. Touya only stared and said it wasn't necessary. I insisted. It wouldn't be a problem for me. That I do it all the time. He told me, sarcasm dripping with each word, he was sure of that. I must wash dishes all the time back at my big old mansion where I'm known as Xiao-Lang, heir to millions of money.

Scratch what I said about being on okay terms.

After I had calmly agreed to let Touya wash the dishes, Sakura and I left him alone in the kitchen. She walked beside me, rolling her eyes as she stared at the door that had just swung closed. "Sorry," she said, apologizing for her brother, "I warned you about him. You really shouldn't -- "

"Take it personanlly? I know, Sakura. You told me that too." I interrupted, not the least bit offended with what her brother had said. I was so used to that now. It was just getting annoying, really.

She blushed lightly. "I'll be in the bathroom brushing my teeth. I'll yell once I'm done, okay?"

I nodded and watched her bound up the steps, meeting Kero half way. He had flown down the stairs, and once I saw the expression on Sakura's face, I could tell that she wasn't happy. In one quick motion she flew her hand out and caught him by the stomach. I could see his tiny figure squirming in her small hand.

"Are you insane?" She hissed, bringing him up to her face.

"Why does he get to be downstairs?" Kero said, ignoring her question and pointing a long yellow arm at me while glaring. Was it just me or did everyone in this house besides Sakura seem to dislike me for no apparent reason?

"Because," Sakura began once more, stomping up the steps, "Syaoran just so happens to have two legs he walks on instead of four, and no pairs of wings to match!"

I chuckled, shoving my hands deep inside my pocket. I shook my head and began to make my way over to the stretch out bed, which was now covered in the sheets that Sakura had left for me. On top of it was still just a little bit of my stuff, and my night clothing. The bed looked so comfortable. I could just hear it calling my name.

Just as I was about to plop onto it like I do back at the college, Touya came out of the kitchen, a cloth in his hands. He glared at me, without saying a word. I only stared back. As he turned the corner to go up the steps to his bedroom, he threw me the dish towel. Without looking at me he climbed the steps and said, "Next time you talk to me like that in my house you'll be in a casket."

I watched him go up the stairs and disappear behind a corner. I smirked. "Well then," I muttered to myself, setting the cloth down onto the bed, "The next time I talk to you like that," I heard Sakura yell at me from the top of the stairs. I took my things and slowly walked up the stairs, "It won't be in your house."

_**xxxxxx**_

Jet lag. It took me ages to get a little bit of shut eye. And when I did, I was suddenly woken up my a bright light that no doubtedly disturbed my sleep. I groaned and pulled the covers up to my forehead. "Touya..." I said, my voice dripping with exhaustion and annoyance, "Could you try and bug me later? I'm trying to sleep, here."

"Not a good idea," I heard. That voice was definitely not Touya's. I sat up as quickly as I could and covered myself with the sheets. Sitting at the foot of my bed with a glass of water in one hand and a nightlight in the other, was Sakura, looking at me expectantly.

"What are you doing?" I said, grabbing the night light from her and shutting it off.

"Oh calm down, you big baby." She said, "You didn't wake up when I tried shaking you. So I had no other choice but to shove that thing in your face, okay?"

I ignored the comment, "Was there something you needed Sakura?"

I stared at her as I waited for her response. Though it was still kind of dark because I turned off the night light, I could still see Sakura's perfect figure through the darkness. The moonlight shone through the window, bathing us both in a misty silver. Sakura looked adorable in her white pajams which, might I add, had cartoon cows on them.

"No," she sighed, moving closer towards me and setting her glass of water down, "I just couldn't sleep." She stared at me for a while, sitting cross legged on the mattress, her hands cupping her chin. "Are you homesick yet?"

I shook my head in response, "Me? Homesick? Never."

"Never?" She asked, surprised, "That can't be true."

"Well," I said, stretching the blanket over onto Sakura so that we were both covered underneath the warm blankets she provided me with, "I was never really a big fan of my home. And I haven't been living long enough at the dorm to call it my home. So, I'm not homesick." I explained as a matter-of-factly.

"Weird." Was her reply.

We sat in silence once more. All either of us could do was stare into each other's darkened eyes. I found it funny, really. Although I could barely make out the colour of her emerald orbs that I loved getting lost in, I could still see their twinkle and shine. They hadn't been there before, when I'd first met Sakura. But I had been seeing them more often. I wonder why.

"So..." she said, letting the word drag on for about five seconds, "I kind of have to tell you something."

I raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"

"Well..." she started off her sentence awkwardly, "I didn't find this out until tonight, I swear. And he made me do it, honestly! If I knew Touya wanted to do this, I would've warned you earlier. So don't go blaming me about all of this stuff, okay?" She had a hopeful look on her face. On mine, however, was a look that kind of made you think I didn't like you very much.

"Sakura!" I hissed, "What did you and Touya do?"

Her face crumpled in fake pain as she threw the blanket over her face, "We created a schedule!" She wailed.

I flipped the blanket off of her so fast I could've taken the hair off of her head, "You created a _what_?"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry!"

"How could you guys have created a schedule? He only found out that you were bringing a guy over to your house today! That's the only reason he wanted to make it, right? You guys couldn't possibly have just made that schedule in the few hours you had here at the house, could you?"

"Syaoran!" She exclaimed, "Have you learned nothing about me? My brother can force me to do anything he wants! Anything within reason, of course. When it comes down to me, he will do anything possible just to keep me from so-called harm, which I'm not in! I can take care of myself, he just hasn't realized it yet."

"Which reminds me," I began, giving her a stern look, "If you want him to know so badly that you can take care of yourself, why don't you tell him that you're the Card Mistress?"

Guilt crowded her face, "It's not that simple, Syaoran. He'd be even more over protective if he knew."

"You can tell Tomoyo but not your own flesh and blood?"

"Hey!" She said angrily, "Don't put it like that, okay? Tomoyo keeps all my secrets, and what more, she supports me in whatever I do. Touya, however, won't do a thing to encourage me in anything I'm doing if it's possible that I can get a stupid paper cut. Besides, he has enough to worry about in his own life. Trust me, I'm doing both him and me a favour by not telling him."

"If you say so."

We sat in silence once more when my next question popped into my head, "Where are we headed to tomorrow then?"

"Well..." she sighed, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling to think, "Apparently I should be taking you to all my favourite childhood places. So, I thought about it, and I'm going to be taking you to the mall, go for a walk in the park, visit Touya's restaraunt, and then finally, go see my dad."

I gave her a look, "That's it? That schedule doesn't sound so bad."

She gave me another look in return, "For me it does."

"Why should it?"

She sighed, finishing up the rest of water in her glass and standing up. "You never know who we might run into." She went inside the kitchen to wash her glass. I heard the sound of water, slapping onto the metal of the sink. When she came back into the living room I was already laying on my back, ready to get some more sleep.

Before saying anything, she only stared at me and my sleeping figure. I stared back at her, expecting her to say something already. But she didn't. All she did was walk up to me and kiss me lightly on the cheek, like she did when she was thanking me for rescuing her that one night.

"Goodnight, Syaoran." She said, as if she hadn't kissed me at all.

"Goodnight, Sakura." I replied, doing the exact same as her.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Sakura -**

I didn't know what came over me that night. Just coming out of that kitchen, seeing him sprawled across the bed like that made him look so...cute. Like he was a little boy, that was just tucked in by his mother and refused to go to bed. Except, he certainly didn't look like a little boy.

He still looked like the same old Syaoran - tall, dark, handsome. The same old sturdy, know-it-all, "I'm always there for you," Syaoran that I first met on that fateful day. Yet somehow, in his sleep, the walls that he built had suddenly turned into sand, and were ready to crumble at any moment, revealing the side of him I rarely got to see.

Along with that more innocent side of him I had to see, there was his entire figure. With the moonlight blanketting him in a milky white, he seemed to me the most caring, most thoughtful man in the entire universe. The way he was staring back at me just made me want to melt.

So? I kissed him. On the cheek.

And then I said goodnight. Like nothing happened.

What is the matter with me?

And then, he said goodnight to me. Exactly how I had said it.

What's the matter with_ him_?

Syaoran and I hadn't been getting along the first time we'd met, am I correct? And now all of a sudden he's coming with me back to my hometown and has me kissing him on the cheek? I guess he deserves it for saving me from a possible STD, but if this were any other guy, I would've just given a rushed thank you and never speak of that event ever again. But with Syaoran, it was different.

He was caring and open...kind of. He still doesn't like to share very much about himself. But it's not like he had a choice. We both had that English Essay to write about each other. If we weren't given any essay to write at all, he probably would've just kept his mouth shut, and the same thing for me. We both had our defenses up, and we still did. Except his were coming down. Mine wouldn't - not for him, not for anyone.

So what was it about this guy that made him different from the rest?

I tucked myself into bed and sighed deeply. I covered my head with my blankets and growled like a lion. Stupid Syaoran. He made it difficult for me in the beginning. And he's only making it harder now that we're close to...an end?

_**xxxxxx**_

I woke up bright and early that day, all thoughts of Syaoran pushed to the farthest part of my mind. I'd argued with myself enough the other night. There was a time and place to think about him and what the hell he was doing to me, and I was trying my hardest to avoid that time and place.

When I came down the stairs, Syaoran was sitting on his bed, rubbing his eyes. "Goodmorning," I said, taking a seat beside him. I watched him looked me up and down. I raised an eyebrow. There wasn't much to see. All I was wearing was a pair of jeans, a blue shirt and a windbreaker, which, might I add, blended in perfectly with my outfit.

"Already dressed, huh?" He asked, swinging his legs over to the side of the bed. I watched silently as he folded the sheets and take some clothes out of the tiny drawer that was provided for him, where he kept all his clothes. I helped him fold the mattress back into a couch, and waited a while for him to get out of the bathroom.

He met Touya and I at the table eating our breakfast. Pancakes hot off the stove, with fruits of all kinds on the side. My favourite. Touya always knew to make me the right breakfast. Syaoran took in a large whiff of it all and I could just sense his humongous urge to just dig in like a wild animal.

I giggled lightly, "Hungry?"

"You wouldn't believe. This smells great." He looked at Touya when he had said it, knowing I couldn't cook to save my life, and also obviously trying to compliment my brother. Touya didn't acknoweledge the comment at all. He just kept on flipping pancakes, and placing them ontop of a brand new plate. I could only roll my eyes.

"So, where are we headed to first again?" He asked, obviously not remembering what I told him the other night.

"The mall," I replied. When Touya and I had created the schedule, I thought my hardest of where I should take him and thought out the events for the entire day. Where would be the place that we would least be likely to run into someone nasty from my past? The mall, of course. Everyone being so absorbed in their shopping and all, we would just blend in like every other person inside the building.

"I get it," he replied, digging into the pancakes.

I gulped. Was it really that obvious that I didn't want to see anybody that I used to know? "You do?"

"Yeah. You said last night you had to take me to all your favourite childhood places. The mall is obviously one of them, you being a girl and all."

I dropped my mouth, mock offended, "I resent that! Just beacuse I'm a girl, doesn't automatically mean I love to shop."

"But you do, don't you?"

I hesitated. "Yeah, actually I do."

Both of us started laughing and eating our pancakes. Touya joined us at the table and started eating too. After our laughter died down, he eyed the both of us suspiciously. Now what had we done to upset him? "You knew about the schedule?" He asked Syaoran, as if he were some detective guy interrogating someone who committed the most horrible crime ever.

"Yeah..." Syaoran replied, looking over to me for support, "Why?"

"You told him last night?" He asked me, the same way he had asked Syaoran.

"Yeah..." I answered, doing the same as Syaoran.

"Meaning you visitted him during the night? In the living room? Where there is a bed, and it is dark, and pretty far away from my bedroom?" My mouth dropped. That idiot big brother of mine. He couldn't put in a single percent of trust in me, could he?

"You moron!" I said, whacking him over the head with the morning newspaper, "I can't believe you'd think that! The only reason I came to visit him last night was yes, to tell him about the schedule. But that's all I did. I came, told him about it, left. End of story, kaput, zip, is there any other possible way I can put it?"

"Whatever." He said, "You know I'm just teasing anyway."

Sure you were, liar.

"Just as long as there were no lips involved."

With that sentence being said, both me and Syaoran's eyes gravitated towards the floor. Luckily, Touya hadn't noticed. He only continued to eat his pancakes. Hmm, maybe my brother wasn't much of a moron as I thought he was. And maybe, though his strategies to protect me are only making me suffer, he really does love me as much as I think he does.

_**xxxxxx**_

We arrived at the mall shortly after finishing breakfast. Though it took a while to persuade Touya we'd be fine, he agreed to meet us at the foodcourt in about two hours, where we would eat, go back to the car, and visit the next thing on the schedule. I was happy with that agreement. I could get lots of shopping done in two hours.

"Where do you want to go first?" I asked him.

He shrugged, "Dunno. You've been here plenty of times. You tell me where everything is."

I sighed, taking in the entire view of the mall. There were esceladors and elevators everywhere. Each time I turned around there was a store, crowded with eager customers, and a whole bunch of new things that they'd added since I had been gone. The mall was so much more different than it was before. I wondered what else had changed.

Then, I remembered something. "Wait!" I said, taking his arm and dragging him onto one of the esceladors that went upwards. We were on the bottom floor, "I have to see something." We rushed up the escelador stairs and squeezed passed everybody in our way in the politest manner possible. When finally, we reached it.

I sighed happily, tilting my head to the side. "There it is,"

_**xxxxxx **_

**Syaoran -**

I looked at Sakura, and back again at what she was so eager to see. I raised a curious eyebrow. It was a photo booth. A tiny photo booth, and a small curtain hanging from a metal bar, protecting those inside the booth from all the curious onlookers that would stare at them if that curtain wasn't there.

"Sakura..." I said, looking at her, "Still with me?"

Instead of answering, Sakura took her wallet out. She grabbed three, thin strips of photos out of it and stared nostaigically. The photos were wrinkly and old and obviously taken inside that very photo booth. Some photos were of her and Tomoyo as their teenager selves. Some were of Sakura and her father, Sakura as a little girl dressed in a lady bug outfit. I could tell why she was so eager to see it again.

I stared at the machine, like she was. And I saw the price sticker. "Four dollars." It read, showing coin pieces, "Four minutes for photos to print." I stared at both the machine and Sakura. I was arguing with myself. Should I do it? I took my own wallet out. Slipped in four dollars into the tiny slits.

Why the hell not?

I took Sakura's hand and brought her inside the booth with me. "What in bloody hell are you doing?" She asked.

"Smile!" I said, forcing her to sit beside me. There was a black screen inside the booth which we were obviously supposed to pose infront of. If I was correct, the camera would flash any second. It would flash six times, and then we'd be done.

We weren't ready for the first flash. It went off as Sakura was trying to sit down beside me. "There's no room!" She said, standing up, although she had to tilt her head a little so she wouldn't bang her head into the ceiling. I panicked just a little. The second flash would be coming soon. I didn't want to waste my four dollars.

"So sit here!" I said, getting her to sit on my lap. Surprisingly, she did so without complaint.

My arms were around her waist, and her arms ontop of mine. I placed my head ontop of her shoulder, and smiled. She didn't. I thought this photo booth was supposed to be special to her? Why wasn't she acting like it was when she was staring at it just seconds before?

"Would it kill you to smile?" I asked, just as the second flash went off.

She sighed and cracked a smile. It was awkward, but still, all the same, beautiful.

We took on a different pose. I stuck out my tongue in a juvenile way as Sakura looked to the side, as if to say that I was the most immature thing to walk the planet. The camera went off. She hadn't meant for the picture to be like that. So she started laughing. And so did I.

That's when the fourth flash came unexpectedly.

We did not stop laughing until a few seconds later, when we turned to look at each other. The fifth flash came. It seemed that with just one glance into one another's eyes we burst out laughing again. And then suddenly, out of no where, I heard Sakura grunt. I looked at her confused. Her face crumpled, and was clutching her stomach. The last flash went off.

"Wait here for the pictures to print!" She yelled, sprinting towards a different direction.

"What's the matter?" I said, not bothering to run after her.

"Bathroom break is all," and with that, she left me alone at the photo booth to wait for our pictures.

_**xxxxxx **_

**Sakura -**

It's pretty obvious about what happened to me inside the photo booth.

God damnit, flicker. Why must you come when I'm actually happy?

Oh yeah, I remember now. I'm not supposed to be happy. Not anymore. That was my old life.

_**xxxxxx **_

**Syaoran -**

The thin strip of our pictures came sliding out of a tiny slit on the side of the photo booth. I reached for it excitedly and began to look over them. I smiled, remembering exactly how we came to take those pictures. They looked nothing like what had really happened inside the booth.

1 - Sakura's head cut off from the picture, and me squishing to the side of the booth to make as much room for her as possible. That one did, though.  
2 - My head resting on her shoulder as she was sitting on my lap. My mouth was open, and I was obviously talking to her. She wasn't smiling.  
3 - My head, still on her shoulder, my tongue out. Sakura looking off to the side as if she wanted to be anywhere but inside that booth with me.  
4 - The both of us laughing, looking like we were having a ball.  
5 - Us, looking into each other's eyes like the most in love couple in the world.  
6 - Sakura with a pained look on her face, and me, looking as though I wanted to kiss all her sadness away.

The last thing I noticed of the sixth picture just before Sakura came to snatch them away from me was her right hand on her stomach, and her other hand on her heart.

"These look really nice," Sakura said, handing them back to me after she'd looked over them herself.

"What's with the last picture?" I asked.

"If I told you, you'd laugh at me."

I chuckled, thinking she had to go to the bathroom really badly to do certain things that I'd rather not talk about. "I told you," she said, which only got me laughing harder. She shook her head miserably and started walking in another direction. I jogged up to her, handing the thin strip of photos back to her.

"Keep'em," I said.

She tilted her head to the side, "Really?"

"Yeah, sure." I placed it inside her wallet for her, "Keep it as a souvenir of some sort. To remember the entire week we spent with each other at your house. Something to add to your wallet." I smiled at her. She smiled back, although her grin didn't contain much meaning. I shrugged it off, thinking that her trip to the bathroom got her acting all weird.

We spent the time we had left shopping, and looking for things we could take back for our family and friends as souvenirs. Once we'd finished, we met Touya at the foodcourt like we agreed, but then he suggested that we just leave, instead of eating. Sakura asked why. After all, it was his idea to meet there so they could eat, anyway.

"We're going to my restaraunt later, right?" Touya asked, walking infront of us and leading us back into the car, "You guys can just eat there later tonight. Believe me, it'll be worth the wait, gaki." He continued, looking at me. I ignored the comment. I guess that would be his new nickname for me.

"Touya!" I heard Sakura hiss. I simply nudged her and shook my head. It wasn't worth it.

So Touya drove us to the park. Penguin Park, it was called. Sakura told me on the way that she loved coming there after school to think, or whatever. All the kids that came to the park were always long gone by the time she arrived, because she always liked to come really late into the evening. The fact that it was remotely close to a bus stop was the only reason she was allowed.

"Hey guys?" Touya began after the car had rolled to a stop, "As much as I hate to do it, I actually have to run some errands and buy some ingredients for the restaraunt. It'd be alright if I left you guys here for about forty five minutes, right?" I shrugged, not caring. Sakura did also. So Touya left, and Sakura and I were left alone at the park.

Well, not technically. There were a couple of kids, running around and screaming. There was the occasional couple sitting on a bench, whispering things into the other's ear. And the pair of parents, walking around with one eye looking into their spouse's while the other was glued onto the large penguin slide where their child would be sliding down from.

"Nothing's changed," she sighed happily, a half-smile creeping onto her face.

"It must've been fun here," I said.

"It was," she replied, looking straight ahead, the wind causing her hair to fly in every which way. That half-smile was still cutely plastered onto her face. I held in a chuckle, thinking how childish she looked with that look on her face when suddenly, it vanished. Her eyes took the shape of two round coins, and her jaw had almost reached the ground.

My eyes furrowed in confusion. "Sakura - " I began. She flew behind my back, her arms taking hold of both my shoulders so that I was covering her figure completely. She tip-toed slightly to see over my shoulder, trying to look at something straight ahead. "What the hell?" I asked, annoyed.

"Shut it," she hissed, slowly coming out from behind my back. Half of her body was still behind me, and her eyes were glued onto the ground, "Just act normal, okay?"

I raised a sarcastic eyebrow, "I should tell you the same thing! What's the matter with you?"

"_Don't_ look straight ahead!" She warned, gripping my arm tighter than ever before.

I ripped it out of her grasp. I raised my voice, not caring who heard, "Okay, what in the world is the matter with you?" When she didn't answer, I decided to ask again, this time with a louder voice, "Sakura Kinomoto, if you don't tell me - "

"Sakura?"

My head snapped up. Standing just a few feet before us was a man and a woman. The young man had jet black hair, and an odd shade of brown for his eyes that would've reminded you of dung. He had a surprised look on a face, and was staring directly at Sakura. I looked back and forth to each of them. Did he know her?

"Sakura?" He asked again.

"Do you know this man, Sakura?" I noticed the woman beside the unknown man do the same as me: look back and forth to each of them, not knowing what was going on.

"Hi, Miko," she said. She didn't bother looking up.

"Sakura," the man named Miko said once more. I eyed him suspiciously. He took three steps towards Sakura and her hold on my elbow grew tighter. When he finally came close enough to have an actual conversation with her, she'd slunked slowly behind my back once more, probably hoping that the ground would open up and swallow her.

"How...how are you?" He asked. Sakura did not answer.

"Miko, honey, who is this?" The woman asked. It was like we'd all forgotten about her.

As if just realizing that she was present, Miko brought her forward and introduced her as Riya, his girlfriend. Not surprisingly enough, Sakura still had not opened her mouth since she had greeted this man, whom I automatically didn't like, just because of some weird feeling at the pit of my stomach that caused me to do so.

"Hi," I began, reaching out my hand, "I'm Syaoran. Nice to meet you,"

Miko looked at me weirdly, and shook my hand, unsure. "Are you two...?"

Before he could finish, Sakura finally spoke. "Great seeing you again, Miko. Nice to meet you, Riya." And before anyone could get a word out, she dragged me off towards another direction of the park, not looking back once. I did, however, and saw Miko twisting his back to look at us with a disappointed look on his face.

"Who and what the hell was that?" I asked, shrugging my elbow out of her grasp once more.

"No one and nothing," she replied, continuing to walk though I had already stopped, wanting an honest to God answer. There was just so many things in Sakura's life that she had refused to speak about. And honestly, it was getting so frustrating having to interrogate her for a simple, straight answer.

"Could you for once answer me without having to avoid my question first?"

She stopped in her tracks and shoved her hands inside her pockets. She turned around slowly, and began to speak to her shoes, "Just an ex-boyfriend." My eyes widened, but she didn't see. She was staring at her shoes like they were the most fascinating things in the entire world.

"_Just_ an ex-boyfriend?"

"I told you he was no one," she started walking off again.

"Stop walking away!" I said, jogging up to her and took hold of her shoulder, "Running into an ex is always harsh. You don't have to be so shy about it, you know? I'm not that much of a jerk to make fun of you about it."

"That's not what I'm worried about,"

"Then what is it?" I asked, irritated.

"He's exactly what I was trying to avoid!" She answered, throwing her hands up in the air. She began babbling, more to herself than to me, "He never even liked coming here when we were dating! He never liked anything I enjoyed doing. I never thought he'd come here! Not with this place being what it is to him!"

I didn't speak. What was she talking about?

"That bimbo! That stupid, stupid girl. He knew I loved coming here. Of all places, he chooses to kiss her behind my back here - "

"_What_?" I said, interrupting her.

She steadied her hands, and took in a breath, her nose taking in every sweet scent of the cool and refreshing air. "I told you," she said, more calm and down to earth than last time she spoke, "It's nothing."

I didn't listen to her, "Is that why you were hiding? He cheated on you, and you were afraid to face him?"

"That's not any of your damn business - "

"Because you shouldn't be afraid." She fell silent, "He's the one who cheated on you, isn't he? If I'm assuming correct, you're the one who broke it off with him, right? He's the one who got dumped by a great girl like you, that doesn't even deserve a cheating scumbag like himself." She could only stare. "If anything, he's the one that should be hiding."

An unexpected smile popped onto her face. "Gee...thanks, Syaoran."

I could only smile back, and take her hand as we continued walking through the park, blending in like every other in love couple did that was roaming near the playground.

"I would've loved having this life," I said, after a while.

"Yep...this was my life."

"_Was_ your life?" I asked suspiciously, "What's so different about this life and the one you're living right now?"

She hesitated to answer me, "...Everything."

Touya came right before I had the time to question her further. The minute we saw sight of his silver volvo we immediately detached hands. Once we climbed into the car, there were at least a dozen plastic bags taking up the entire room of the back seat, where I'd be sitting.

He assured me he forgot that there'd be no room for me to sit.

I'm sure.

So with the help of Sakura, we took some of the groceries he bought and placed them in the trunk of the car. Once having finished, I squished into the tiny space that was made for me in the back, and put on my seatbelt. I glared rudely into the rearview mirror, which I knew he was looking straight into. I'd honestly had just enough about him.

I was looking straight into the eyes of danger, according to Sakura. That's what Touya was.

Danger.

And he blinked first. _Ha!_

_**xxxxxx**_

We arrived at Touya's restraraunt. Though I was still thoroughly annoyed with her brother, I helped them unload the groceries from the car and took the majority of the bags for myself, Sakura taking the least. Neither me or Touya wanted her to be carrying a lot of bags. Oh, how chivalrous we were.

Touya didn't bother making us anything fancy, which I didn't mind. We had a nice, normal, and quiet dinner at the top of the restaraunt eating spahgetti, with all his chefs and workers cooking things below us. I got to meet his wife, Sakura's sister-in-law. She smiled and hugged me, while Touya just glared and watched from a distance.

Everything was going well, until Touya's wife, Miya, began to speak about things she'd only just assumed, "So, tell me," she said, sucking in her spahgetti and swallowing, "how long have you two been dating?"

Touya began to cough wildly, the water he was just drinking splattering all over his t-shirt. Sakura and I on the other hand only blushed and stared at our plates. Miya thumped her husband on the back twice, until he started breathing normally again. And instead me or Sakura answering the question she asked us, Touya did.

"No," he said firmly, "They are most certainly not dating."

Miya covered her hands infront of her mouth cutely, as it to apologize for making such a stupid mistake, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make assumptions like that. I just figured, with the way you two looked at each other..."

Touya coughed again loudly, but this time not because he drank the water the wrong way.

"What?" I heard Miya whisper to Touya who was giving her a weird look.

I could only chuckle, while Sakura just kept on blushing. "It's alright." I assured her, nudging Sakura lightly in the ribs so she could talk, "It really didn't bother me. Nor did it bother Sakura, right?" We all looked at her expectantly, hoping that she would speak for the first time in a few short minutes.

"Uh...yeah. It's okay Miya. She always makes those kinds of mistakes."

"Oh yeah. With that other boy...what was his name? Miko!" Miya laughed at her memory of that cheating jerk. Sakura's face grew pale. I saw Touya's grip on his fork grow tighter, "Except, you really were dating him, weren't you, Sakura?" She sighed lightly. Miya obviously didn't know when to shutup, "Yes, I remember - "

"Could you excuse me?" Sakura said abruptly, dropping her fork loudly onto the table, "I think I need to get a glass of water."

"Uh...yeah," I said, knowing why Sakura just wanted to get away. "Could you get me one too?" I asked, knowing that if she was getting two glasses of water, she'd take longer. She gave me a grateful look, and hurried off into another direction, which I knew wasn't where the water was kept.

_**xxxxxx**_

After the uncomfortable meeting with Miya, Touya kissed her on the cheek and we all hugged her in goodbye. Touya said he'd drop by again later tonight, not forgetting to say thank you for running the restaraunt while he was taking care of us. I mentioned that we were going to go and see Sakura's father.

Once having heard that, she told us to stay put for just a little longer. She ran inside the restaraunt and took out a bouqet of cherry blossoms, which Sakura was automatically drawn to as if she were a magnet. "I've been meaning to give these to him," Miya said, handing them over to Sakura, "I thought that on my next visit to see him I'd give him things that would remind him of his daughter." Sakura smiled sweetly at her, "But now that you're here I guess there's no reason for me to do that anymore."

After saying thank you and saying goodbye for the final time, we hopped into the car once more, and drove towards the hospital, where Sakura's dad was staying. This time, she sat in the back with me, the bouqet of flowers sitting quietly beside her. She gripped my hand, which was very risky of her, but Touya never saw a thing. As we pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, her hand grew slippery with perspiration.

We pushed through the glassdoors that lead into the building and we were greeted with a rush of cold air, just like in the airport. Touya walked infront of us, leading us towards the reception desk. So with Touya's eyes somewhere else, Sakura did not hesitate to take my hand once more. She must've been quite nervous.

"Hello, Mr. Kinomoto!" The plump lady behind the desk greeted cheerfully.

Touya smiled at her, and asked to see his father. She said certainly, and said that she hoped he was feeling much better today. He nodded in thanks and introduced her to Sakura. Sakura shook her hand lightly. "Such a pleasure to meet you, miss," she said, in the same cheerful voice, "First time bringing your boyfriend here?"

Touya grunted and just simply walked away. Sakura shook her head and took my hand once more. I waved goodbye to the lady and couldn't help chuckling. Second time, being thought of as Sakura's boyfriend. Three, if you count her ex-boyfriend who didn't really state it, but was thinking it. I wondered how long I could keep this up, just for amusement.

"I'll be back," Touya said, stopping infront of room 231. "I'm just going to make a quick stop to the bathroom and then the cafeteria. I'll be back soon, okay?"

Sakura nodded numbly. When Touya had vanished from sight, she began pulling me towards the door. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Taking you in to meet my dad, of course." She had a hopeful look on her face.

"Sakura..." I said, knowing why she wanted me to come inside with her. She hadn't seen her dad in so long, she obviously wanted me to be there to break possible tension, "I can meet your dad later. First, you go inside. Tell him how much you've missed him."

She sighed deeply. My cellphone began to ring. I waved her away with a reassuring hand as I answered my cellphone.

_You can do it, Sakura!_

_**xxxxxx **_

**Sakura -**

I creeped into the room, as quietly as I could. I hadn't forgotten to bring the cherry blossoms in with me. When I had stepped fully inside the room, I shut the door behind me. My clothes and the flowers were the only things in the room that had any colour. Everything was milky white...it reminded me of an asylum or something.

I saw my dad. Lying helpless and exhausted on the white mastress, covered in white sheets. His eyes were closed, and he had this monitor hooked up to his nose and arms and stuff. I let out a sigh, which didn't even release as much nerves inside of me that I hoped it would. I walked closer to my dad, my shoes making light noses on the white tiled floors. His eyes opened slightly.

It caused him pain even to do that!

"Sakura..." he said, in a voice so hoarse, so quiet that if I hadn't been looking at him, I would've thought he was some alien or animal of some sort. My eyebrows moved upward, my eyes began to swim in tears. I dropped the flowers onto his knees, and pulled up a chair beside him. I took his hand, and held it with every last bit of strength I had.

"Daddy..." I whispered, my tears threatening to spill.

"Why..." he asked, a ghost of a smile reaching his lips, "Is this truly my little girl?"

"Yes..." I answered, and let out two single tears escape from my eyes.

"Oh Sakura," he said, squeezing my hand tightly, "How I've missed you. Why haven't you visitted me in so long?"

"I'm so sorry, daddy," I replied, my voice cracking. More tears escaping, "I've missed you too. I'm so, so sorry I haven't visitted you."

"It's alright," he answered, in a soothing, yet hoarse voice. "Please tell me...what's going on?"

I sucked in a large breath, "Nothing's going on daddy..."

"Something..." he let out a large sigh, like he's been holding his breath, "Is wrong...am I not right?"

"Things could be going better, I guess..."

"Whatever happened, or whatever is happening..." he said, his eyes opening fully so that he was staring me straight in the eye, "You know that I'm always here, darling...and that...I love you so much."

All the colour in my face drained. My hand flew out of his grasp and I stood up so abruptly that the chair went flying backwards. My breathing became hard and raspy, and I looked down at my father like I had just committed a crime. He said nothing, but only looked at me. I held my hand behind my back. It was, this time, the part of my body that was flickering.

"I'm sorry, daddy," I said again, wiping my eyes dry from my tears after the flickering had stopped. I rushed out of the room, not being able to breathe with my father around, not having the strength or the courage to see him in such a state...and not having the heart to answer him when he said he loved me.

_You can't do this, Sakura._

I came out of the room, to see Syaoran talking furiously into his cellphone. He was throwing his free hand into the air, whispering so angrily into the phone I thought the spit flying from his mouth would wreck it. Syaoran let out an exasperated sigh and barked out a, "Fine!" before hanging up and shoving the phone back into his pocket. He rubbed his head miserably.

As if just noticing me, he said, "Oh. Hey, Sakura. How'd it go?"

"We can't stay here," was all I said, walking away from him.

"Wait," he said, taking my elbow, "That's what I have to talk to you about...I mean, I can't stay here anymore."

"Why not?" I asked.

"That was...that was my mother on the phone, Sakura. She wants me on the first flight back to Hong Kong A.S.A.P."

"What?" I hissed, "You can't just leave me here! We had...we had a schedule!"

"Look, I'm sorry I can't meet your dad...but you don't understand. This is my mother. Yelan Li, for crying out loud! What she wants, she gets, and she doesn't care if she has to drag me back home with my hair, she wants me back home, now!"

I sighed, "Well I'm sure as hell not staying here by myself." I muttered, so that he wouldn't hear me. "Okay...well, I guess I have no other choice but to..."

"To what?" He asked.

"Let's head home and pack our bags. I'm coming with you,"

-

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-

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**Be the person to make me happy! Read and review, please:) **

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	11. Welcome Home, Syaoran

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: If I'd owned CCS, then I probably would've started making episodes that were filled with SS fluff in it since day one, up until this very, exact moment! But I'm not. Needless to say, I don't own CCS or any of its characters, so is there really any suing necessary? Yikes!

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts/exaggerated words  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions  
**bold font** - point of view

Now...on with chapter eleven!

**Welcome Home, Syaoran**

**Sakura -**

That was my decision. Leave my hometown after spending only a day there, to go with Syaoran and visit his home. Why? Because I couldn't handle it there with my father and Touya! I felt so ashamed for not making any type of contact with them in so long! The guilt was suffocating me. I knew my father would be disappointed. I didn't want to stay to see him upset. And don't even get me started on Touya. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy.

"You don't have to leave with him!" Touya countered, after my many excuses for not staying home, "I don't see why you just can't stay here with me!" He turned angrily towards Syaoran, the most evil glare there was ever to be seen shot right at him, who surprisingly didn't seem bothered by it, "This is all your fault!"

"What?" I shrieked, dropping whatever piece of clothing I was holding. We were already back at my former house, and packing all our things into our suitcases. Luckily, since we'd only spent one day in Tomoeda, there wasn't a lot to be done. "How is this his fault?"

"He suggested you come with him, didn't he? Who does he think he is, your pimp? Sakura, you don't have to do everything he says! Who cares if you get a fancy room accomodations where your staying at? Just because he's heir to millions of money, that shouldn't be any reason for you to go gallovanting - "

"Once again," Syaoran interrupted, which I thought wasn't very smart of him, "Sakura coming with me back to China has nothing to do with however much money I'm heir to. And secondly, as much as I know you'd hate to believe it, it was Sakura's idea to - "

"Come with him to China." I finished for him.

Touya looked at me stunned. His jaw was so close to the ground I was surprised he hadn't broken anything. He had to blink many times, which was an extremely rare thing for him to do, before answering, "Your idea? YOUR IDEA? Sakura, what's gotten into you?"

I sighed, hoping Touya would try to understand, "Nothing hasn't gotten into me, Touya. Just please try to understand...I can't spend my Spring Break here anymore - "

"Why not?" He asked furiously.

"It's hard to explain...maybe one day I'll be able to, but just not now. And I don't want to spend the entire Spring Break alone at the dorm, even though I know you'd rather have me doing that than spending it with Syaoran back in China. But please try and believe me when I say that I won't do anything that's against your dumb rules. No boys, no parties, no breathing, etc."

Touya smiled at my sarcasm which I knew and hoped he would. "Well..." he began after a while, just as Syaoran's cell phone began to ring again. He excused himself quietly and answered the phone in a far corner of the room, "I guess if you're not breathing, you won't have very much time to hang out with boys..."

I smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you for understanding," I said.

He wiped his cheek, disgusted, "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

My smile grew brighter. Touya sure does have his moments.

**_xxxxxx_**

Touya drove us to a different part of the airport, listening to Syaoran's instructions, which surprisingly enough, he did without complaint. Instead of going to book our flight and waiting at a gate for the plane to arrive, we went to the back of the airport, where there was a large, vast, green field where planes were scattered everywhere with passengers boarding and/or getting off.

"Why are we here again?" Touya asked, parking the car.

"Just got news from my mother back at the house that there aren't any flights to China until tomorrow."

"Which means...?" I said, my curiousity growing with every second.

Syaoran shrugged, "She's bringing in her own plane."

My eyes widened, and even though I knew he would never admit it, Touya was certainly impressed, "She has her own plane? That is so cool!" I said, looking at Syaoran as if he was someone to be adored. I rolled my eyes as he shrugged, trying to act all cool, calm and collected, as if owning your own private plane was no big deal.

After just a few minutes of waiting, we spotted a black dot in the sky. With Syaoran's instructions, we took huge steps backwards, and watched as the plane landed gracefully a top the grass, a large amount of feet away from us. I was certainly okay with that, even though we had to drag our luggage all the way to the plane. The further we are from a landing plane, the safer.

Touya began to lug our suitcases out of the car. "Leave it," Syaoran said simply, walking towards the plane. Touya gave him a questioning look, "Just leave it," he repeated, taking my elbow and pulling me towards the plane. Touya followed behind us, "The others will handle it. Don't worry."

When we had finally reached the plane, my eyes took the shape of two large coins. The plane was beautiful! It was completely jet black, with the exception of two violet streaks going halfway across the side of the plane, and a Chinese symbol painted on ever so neatly. It looked as if it was polished every day, which it probably was.

The door of the plane was thrown open, and a small set of stairs were placed underneath it by an old, wise looking man with round spectacles on. He had silver hair and plenty of wrinkles, which didn't really make him look old, but quite adorable. Kind of like a sweet grandfather. I watched as he slowly and gracefully walked down the steps, and greeted Syaoran with a hand shake.

"Master Li," he said, shaking Syaoran's hand with glee, "So great to see you again."

Syaoran beamed back at him, "You too, Wei!" He pulled me forwards, introducing me to the man that I kind of already knew. Syaoran had told me about him when I was interviewing him for our English Essay, "This is Sakura Kinomoto, by the way," he said. I stuck out my hand and he took it gently.

"It's so nice to meet you," I said.

"The pleasure is all mine," he replied, in a tone so soft and charming I would've loved to have a butler like him, but then again, who wouldn't? "She must be the lady that is accompanying you then, am I not correct, Master Li?" Syaoran nodded, a slight smile on his face. Wei turned to me, "You never told me I'd be in the presence of such an astonishingly beautiful lady,"

My cheeks flushed, and I couldn't seem to find my voice. Wei was certainly a nice man. I introduced him to Touya. Wei worked his magic on him too, and without a doubt, even though he'd only just met him then, he certainly trusted Wei to take care of me in China. "If there is any trouble at all, I'll be sure to call you with the phone number you've given me." Wei assured, "And if you have any concerns, please feel free to call us," Wei handed him a tiny piece of paper.

"I certainly will," Touya replied, pocketing the paper.

Then I saw two men who I didn't notice come out of the plane come lumbering towards us, our suitcases in their arms. I turned to Touya, whose eyes seemed to glaze over with sadness. I gave him the nicest look I could give, "I guess this is it. I'll miss you, Touya." I hugged him, and he hugged back.

"I'll miss you too," he whispered back.

He and Syaoran shook hands, and I could've sworn I saw Syaoran's jaw lock into place. If I knew Touya, he was probably trying to crush his hand. But when it came to Wei, he was very gentle, and said goodbye to him properly. "I'll call you when I get there," I said, suddenly remembering my father, "And please be sure to tell daddy that I'll miss him."

"I will,"

And so, we boarded on yet another plane, except this time the only ones on it were Syaoran, Wei, servants, the two pilots, and me. When I took a seat on the amazingly soft cushions of the plane, I was handed a menu from a female stuardist, who told me that she'd get me anything I wished, and would be back in a few minutes to get our orders.

I was so stunned. The things on here would cost a fortune if we were in a restaraunt! And I was getting all of this for free! What on earth was this? A five star hotel? Because it certainly seemed like it. I was surprised to see Syaoran turn his menu away and say he wasn't hungry. I wasn't either, but with just one look at the food on the menu, I became as hungry as a pig!

Syaoran smiled uneasily at me. I could tell he was embarassed, but what on earth could he be embarassed about? Being treated like a Prince, which he basically was? I thought about it, and yeah, being pampered and taken care of like you were a three year old could be kind of embarassing. But I could really care less. There was strawberry ice cream with cherries and chocolate fudge on top and a wide, flat screen TV calling my name.

_**xxxxxx**_

"Excuse me, Master Li, Miss Kinomoto," a petite looking lady with black hair pulled into a bun said, using a tone so soft and sugar coated I could've gotten diabetes, "The plane will be landing shortly. To ensure your safety, will you please put on your seatbelts?" She scrunched her eyes and knows tightly while smiling, trying to cause the effect of pure sweetness. A little too sweet, if you ask me.

"Not a problem," Syaoran answered, pulling on his own seatbelt, not at all bothered by the fakeness of the stuardist. He kept his eyes straight forward and drummed his fingers lightly against his thighs, his right foot tapping the floor of the plane impatiently. What was the matter with him?

It seemed that I had failed to notice that Syaoran was acting strangely during the entire flight. He hadn't eaten a single thing, all he really did was stare out the window, work on the english essay, and read a book. That was all I really noticed of him, seeing as how I was too busy pigging out on junk food and watching the currently playing movie on the screen before us, which by the way was totally cheesy.

The only time we ever spoke was when I was bugging him about how rich he was, and how he should be making the most of the millions of money he's got, or to make snide remarks about the corny-as-ever film I was watching, or to try and sneak a peek at the essay he was writing on the laptop. I would always complain, saying that it's about me, I should get to see it. He'd always just reply saying, "You'll see it when I want you too,"

After about the hundredth time, I finally just gave up and told him, "Fine. The minute I start writing my essay on you, don't expect to see anything from me!" Usually, knowing the both of us and how our messed up and pointless arguments always start, he would've said something equally as immature back to me, but instead, he shrugged and said that was fine.

There was definitely something wrong, "What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing, nothing," he answered quickly, turning his head in my direction for the first time since I gave up on trying to see the essay, "I'm just...a little nervous."

My jaw dropped, not in a surprised sort of way, but in a...satisfied sort of way. "Oh! What's this we have here? Syaoran, NERVOUS because he has to go back home? Ohohoho, think of all the things I could say!" I heard him groan and sink deep into his seat, which only made me want to laugh very hard.

"Well don't be," I said, my tone of voice high and very girlish, "this is your home, right? You'll see your sisters, your mom, possibly some old friends. You have nothing to worry about!"

"Hey," he said, in a mock-angry voice, "at least when I said that to you, I was actually trying to help."

I giggled and punched him on the arm, "Well, just because I was making fun of you doesn't mean I didn't mean what I said. Take your own advice, Syaoran. You have nothing to be worried about. I mean, I made it back home okay, didn't I?"

"Yeah," Syaoran said, staring at me hard. I felt a faint colour of pink creep onto my cheeks, "But you left."

Before I could answer, a voice came on the speakers, "Master Li, Miss Kinomoto, the plane has now safely landed." That same stuardist with the diabetic voice came strutting towards us, and I had to use all the strength there was inside of me to look away from Syaoran. I looked up at her, as if she'd insulted me in a very rude and personal way.

"Yes?" I said, annoyed, when she hadn't said anything.

She acted as if my tone of voice didn't bother her, "Once having arrived at the airport, Wei will wait with you by the limosine and will not do anything further until he is given instructions from your mother."

Syaoran stood up, leaving me far behind him. As he did so, he said, "That's something that's never happened before,"

Still, as though that fake smile of hers could not be removed off of her bright face, she nodded lightly, and watched as the both of us walked down and off of the airplane, the same big men carrying our luggage behind us. I did not bother walking beside Syaoran. I still couldn't seem to shake the memory of him looking hard into my own eyes from my head.

**_xxxxxx_**

We walked out of the airport, and onto the busy sidewalk. I was now walking beside Syaoran, but certainly not facing him nor talking to him. Wei was just brightly smiling, walking infront of the both of us, as if he couldn't sense the tension for himself. And come on, Wei seemed like a pretty bright guy, I'm sure he could've noticed whether or not Syaoran and I weren't speaking.

Once again, and not for the last time, my eyes grew round and large. I would be doing that a lot. The limosine before me was also completely jet black, sparkling with such a shine that it could've blinded me. I couldn't wait to see what it was like inside, because I'd never been in a limosine before that time. Syaoran however, was speaking quietly to Wei beside me.

"This is just like mom," he said, shaking his head in disapproval at the big black limosine, "why did she have to send in a limosine? She could've just let us take a taxi to wherever she wants to meet us. I thought I told her I wanted to be subtle?"

I certainly didn't mind however. This "living the high life" thing was pretty interesting to me.

After what hearing Syaoran said, Wei could only just smile and reply, "She only wants her son riding in the best," Syaoran made a noise which sounded like a, "Pfffff." I had to hold in a laugh, because I was still not prepared for the moment of when he would look at me again.

Wei's cellphone began to ring, and he quickly picked it up. He answered "Yes," so many times I couldn't count. After hanging up the phone, he turned to us and explained that we would be meeting Syaoran's mom at the mansion.

This time, I just couldn't hold it in, "Mansion? A mansion? I actually get to go to the place where you lived when you were a kid? The way you talked about it in the interview - it sounded huge! Now I get to see for myself. Oh man, this is going to be - "

Syaoran smacked himself on the forehead, "Absolutely horrible." Wei opened the limosine door for us and me, being the only lady, got to go inside first. I sank in comfortably into the leather seats. I could've taken a nap right then and there! They were so comfortable!

"Wei!" Syaoran said, after getting inside the limosine himself, and Wei did also, "I thought mom said we were going to stay at a hotel? I told her I didn't want to go back to the mansion!"

"Master Syaoran," Wei answered in a gentle, calm voice, "how would she be able to enjoy your stay here in China if you were not living in your original home with her, and your sisters?"

Syaoran's eyes widened for the first time that day, "My sisters? My sisters are home? But I thought - I thought Fanren and Sheifa were on their honeymoons! And Feimei was on a business trip in Canada! And - and Fuutie is supposed to be... I don't know! Somewhere! I can't keep track of where all of them go!"

Wei laughed softly. "They all came back for your homecoming."

Syaoran groaned and covered his face with his hands. I couldn't help but smirk. I finally would get to meet the four famous Li sisters Syaoran talked about in the interview. The apparent "Romantics" - romance and fanatics - best of both worlds. And the great matchmakers, as most people would call them.

"And," Wei continued, patting Syaoran lightly on the back, "when they heard you were bringing a girl back," he looked at me with sweet smile, "they just couldn't refuse to see you talking with a girl that wasn't Meiling." Meiling... I knew her also! She was Syaoran's former fiance! "Did I also forget to mention - Miss Meiling will be joining us also?"

Syaoran could only sink lower into his seat.

Oh yes, this would be interesting indeed. I couldn't wait.

**_xxxxxx_**

We arrived shorty, in no doubt, the biggest house I had ever seen. Though from the outside, it looked dangerous, unwelcoming and scary almost, I couldn't help but feel this weird sense of belonging in there. Most probably because Syaoran and everyone inside the mansion were direct descendants of Clow Reed himself.

There were statues of the weirdest things I couldn't even identify perched on the freshly cut grass. The colour of it was a shade between black and silver, I couldn't really tell. It was as if the house was carved out of stone. It almost kind of reminded me of the current colour of my aura.

I heard Syaoran sigh deeply beside me. Taking in a large, silent breath of courage, I placed my hand firmly on his shoulder. I felt him relax just a little, unlike how I had tensed when he had done that to me. "It's okay," I said, my eyes not once moving from his face. He didn't do me the courtesy of looking back at me, but I was perfectly fine with that.

My gaze moved towards the also silver doorknob, and Syaoran's pale hand resting on top of it. I heard Wei come walking up behind us. I could tell he was watching the both of us very intently, to see what we do. So, me, not wanting to keep him waiting any longer, placed my hand on top of his, and gripped it tightly.

"Ready?" Wei asked.

Syaoran sighed once more and looked from me to Wei. I smiled reassuringly -

Whoa. Only Tomoyo ever got me to do that. "Ready as I'll ever be," Syaoran answered.

So, our hands moving in unison, twisted the doorknob to the right, and pushed the door open. We were greeted with a disturbing silence. We walked through the door, Wei trailing along behind us. The only thing we heard were our footsteps, but stopped walking, at the foot of a long, winding stair case. And suddenly, we heard another pair of footsteps, a pair that was none of ours.

They were coming from the top of the steps, slowly and confidently. Syaoran stood straighter, and tensed his spine. His gaze could not be removed from the steps. Seconds later, a pair of black high heels appeared. As they placed themselves ever so gently onto each step, leading their way towards us, the form of the famous Yelan Li began to take shape.

Slowly, after the feet, it was the bottom of her beautiful red kimono. Golden flowers were embroidered along the side of it. Two, fragile hands placed one on top of the other, held firmly at the front of her navel. And then, what I had been waiting to see - her face.

There were only so many things I could see carved into her perfectly calm and neutral face. She was pale, and yet from where I stood, it seemed as though she had the softest and most delicate skin. Her eyes were not just brown, but charcoal, almost. I was stunned, and there I stood, rooted to the ground.

Beauty, power, confidence, grace and other emotions that I could not even begin to detect, all carved into the beautiful and attractive face of the elegant Yelan Li.

She said nothing, and did not even look at me nor Wei. She only continued to walk down the remaining steps at an even, slow pace, directly towards Syaoran. She stared calmly into his amber eyes, which without a doubt, he had inherited from his father. She was an inch or two taller than him, but that did not seem to bother Syaoran. He stood just as sturdy as ever, gazing deeply and confidently into his mother's eyes.

"Xiao-Lang," she said, in a tone so soft, so deep I couldn't help but agree at how much it strongly matched with her appearance. She placed her hands on both his shoulders, and leaned in slightly. I watched as she kissed him lightly on the cheek, leaving a faint colour of pink where her lips had touched him.

"Hello, mother," Syaoran replied. She smiled slightly.

After nodding politely towards Wei, she turned to me. I didn't dare speak. I didn't know whether or not I was allowed to speak before her - would I have to wait to say anything until she spoke to me first? Or could I just speak to her normally? I doubted it. Yelan Li wasn't just like an ordinary girlfriend that you could talk regularily to.

She looked at me up and down, sizing me up. My eyes darted from side to side, and onto the floor. Then, unexpectedly, her index finger was placed cautiously underneath my chin, raising it up so that I was looking at her directly in the eye. I saw a quick twinkle flash in her eyes, and before I knew it, a strong, green glow erupted from her, surrounding her entire figure.

My entire body tensed, and I felt Syaoran do so also. Her smile grew only wider, if not brighter. I wondered why she was letting her aura out. I wished she would stop. But she did not. I could only clench my jaw, and keep my back as straight as a ruler.

"Mother," Syaoran said, still facing forward while his mother was still looking at me, "Is that really necessary?"

She did not answer. Instead, she let the green glow fade from behind her, and I slowly began to relax. Syaoran did not seem to. Still staring, her eyes moved to the base of my neck, where a tiny lump was covered from behind my shirt. Slowly, she took hold of the string that was around my neck and pulled it upward, revealing the miniature version of my pink staff.

"So nice to finally meet you, Card Mistress," she finally said, bowing.

I looked to Syaoran desperately, while her head was still bowed down. What should I have done? No one had ever bowed to me before - especially not someone as powerful and mighty as Yelan Li! So there I stood, staring in shock as she raised her head slowly back into it's original place.

"I..." I began lamely, "I prefer Sakura, but you can call me that if you want..."

She smiled once more, and turned swiftly on her heel, "Come," she instructed. Not hesitating even a second to obey, Syaoran and I followed her up the winding steps she had just recently climbed down, only to be lead into what I would later find out to be called their living room, though it certainly did not look like one -

More like a ball room!

There were comfortable looking sofas and arm chairs scattered everywhere in the room, placed on top of a golden rug that had such beautiful and intricate designs on them. At the far end of the room was a fire place that was not burning, and yet, there was such a glow and warmth inside the enormous room that you would've thought there was.

At one end of the room was a group of girls, giggling and talking without taking any breaths. Syaoran hesitated to go in the room, but with the instructions of his mother, he obeyed reluctantly. He slowly brought his hand up to his head and scratched, while the other was shoved deep inside his pocket. He obviously didn't know what to do with them.

"Hello, sisters," he greeted, standing a certain amount of feet away from the four girls. Almost immediately the stopped talking, and turned to look at Syaoran. Within an instant, all of them broke out into a massive sound of noise, giggling, squealing, shrieking, you name it. So quick for me to even realize, they had sprinted towards him and started pulling at his clothes and pinching his cheeks.

I stood from afar, enjoying seeing Syaoran squirm for the first time in like - ever.

"Little brother, little brother!" They repeated, with the continuous pinching of his cheeks, "What are you wearing? You look so different! Are you doing good in school? You better not have trudged all the way over to Japan for nothing..." On and on they questioned him. I smirked. And I thought my family was embarrassing?

"Girls," Yelan said, through the loudness of it all. Just as quickly as they had gotten all over Syaoran, they stopped and turned to look at their mother, who was now standing directly infront of me. "We have a guest, remember?" She stepped to the side to reveal my now shaking body.

I giggled nervously. "H - Hi..." I waved a trembling hand at them.

Before I could even register what was going on, all of the girls were now pinching me and my cheeks, poking at my clothes and playing with my hair. While doing so, they talked to Syaoran, who was rubbing the parts of his body of which they poked quite feverishly.

"Oh, little brother," they chimed, "she's so pretty! How could you ever have gotten a girl as pretty as this to come home with you? How long have you two been dating? She is your girlfriend, right? Well of course, she is! What girl can resist that little brother of ours?"

"Guys..." Syaoran said, a light shade of pink creeping onto his cheeks. I know they weren't from all the pinching his sisters did, "She's...not my girlfriend."

"What?" They all said in unison, "How can that be?"

"She's just...not." He replied.

They looked sadly at me, "Oh, well, that's just too bad. We would have loved it if you were dating our little brother," one of them said, I didn't know which one. Syaoran didn't tell me which one was which yet. "What's your name, anyway?" They asked.

"S - Sakura Kinomoto," I said, waving at them once more.

They all giggled. "Sakura...Sakura Kinomoto. Your name means cherry blossom, no?"

"Er..." I looked at Syaoran. Did his sisters always act this weird? "Yes, yes it does."

"Such a pretty name. It certainly fits you,"

"Th - thank you,"

"Come now, ladies," Yelan said, gesturing towards the many sofas, "Let us take a seat and get settled. It's only noon, so I've just sent a maid to get our lunch. Shall we get acquainted?" She asked pleasantly, leading the way onto the soft golden rug and taking a seat on the biggest, and no doubt the comfiest seat in the room.

When we were all seated onto a sofa, me beside Syaoran, two maids came bustling in, each holding a large tray with tiny sandwhiches and teacups on it. They set it down on the slightly large coffee table and left the room quickly, as if not wanting to be in the presence of any of us.

After the maids had left the room, a tall girl with silky black pig tails entered. She had fierce red eyes and a face that was very pretty indeed. I heard Syaoran gasp quietly beside me, and he stood up abruptly. Once having caught sight of Syaoran, the girl let out a large shriek, just like his sisters, and ran up to him, giving him a large bear hug.

"Oh, Xiao-Lang!" She said, her arms wrapped so tightly around his neck I could've sworn I saw some purple on his cheeks, "It's been so long! Thank goodness your mother persuaded you to come back home!"

Unlike what they had done to me, all four of Syaoran's sisters only continued to sip on their tea and bit their sandwhiches. One of them rolled their eyes. "Hello, Meiling," one of them said in monotone, without even looking at her. The girl, who I now knew was Meiling, did not answer but only continued to bear hug Syaoran.

Once she finished, she walked up to Yelan and bowed her head. Yelan smiled and bowed back. "I heard Xiao-Lang was bringing in a guest?" She asked, taking a seat for herself. I choked on my tea, once having heard my label called as "The Guest," which I didn't really mind, because afterall, I was.

"Hi," I said, "I'm Sakura Kinomoto. I'm Syaoran's - er - Xiao-Lang's roommate back at college,"

"You are, are you?" She eyed me suspiciously, and sized me up just as Yelan had. The suspricious look in her eyes soon faded and was replaced with a glimmer, and she smiled brightly at me, "Hi!" She said, in an approving voice, "I'm Meiling Li. Xiao-Lang's cousin."

I shook her hand, "Oh yes, I know. Syaoran and I are doing essays about each other for our English Class. He told me all about you."

"Syaoran...?" She said, in a wondering voice, "Oh, oh yes! That's what you must call him in Japan... Aww, Xiao-Lang, did you really tell her about me? That's so sweet and thoughtful of you!" She hugged him tightly around the neck once more.

"Well, Auntie Yelan," she continued, after successfully almost causing Syaoran to die of limited air, "I thought that if Xiao-Lang was allowed bringing a guest, I could too?"

Yelan nodded, "We have more than enough rooms in the mansion."

"Great!" Meiling said, walking over to the door, "I brought two, if that's okay. Eriol and his girlfriend."

My head snapped to her direction, and I stood up so abruptly that I almost spilled my tea, "Eriol? Eriol...Hiirigazawa?"

"Yes," Meiling replied, "He's another cousin of ours. Do you know him?"

I could not speak, but only stand there, my mouth slightly ajar. Syaoran spoke instead, as if not seeing my strange actions, "Oh, so we finally get to meet Eriol's famous girlfriend, hmm? It's about time, too..."

In through the door came two new guests. A young, good looking man with navy blue hair wearing a pair of large round glasses. A smile was plastered onto his face, as if knowing what was going to happen next. From behind him, a stout young lady with hair colour quite similar to the man's came walking in, her eyes goggling at everything. And that's when I saw it - those amethyst eyes.

Tomoyo Daidouji and Eriol Hiirgizawa joining us for the rest of Spring Break?

Oh, hell yes, this was going to be interesting.

Syaoran stood up, the same surprised look on his face. "Tomoyo?" We both said in unison. Tomoyo's head turned and saw Syaoran and I standing, with five other women standing behind us. Within a milisecond, she had the same expression on her face as we did.

"Sakura?" She squeaked, looking at me square in the eye, "Syaoran?"

And then it was Tomoyo's turn to break out into a noise of deafening shrieks. She screamed in happiness, sprinting towards me and taking hold of my shoulders. While she was screaming and jumping, I was grinning and jumping, still so shocked to process the fact that my best friend was going to be spending the rest of Spring Break with me, unlike how we planned it!

And before I even knew it, we began the ritual conversation that we had last said when she came back from Canada, "Good time?" She asked me, grinning like mad.

"Okay," I replied. She gave me a questioning look, and I replied with a look of my very own, which basically told her that I'd tell her everything later.

"Great guys?" I gave her that same look. Sure, there were great guys. I ran into my cheating ex-boyfriend. Her smile faltered a little. She knew something went wrong.

"Awesome food?" She asked, obvious desperation in her voice.

"Tomoyo..." I said, linking arms with her and taking a seat on the couch, "I was home with a boy he had never heard of at the house. And he was cooking."

She gasped. We both knew that if there was any boy at all at the dinner table that wasn't part of our family or that wasn't approved by Touya himself, and he was doing all the cooking, then the food was bound to taste bitter and cardboard like. Thankfully he never puts his customers through that kind of thing at the restaraunt. If he did, then it wouldn't be that famous. And thankfully I was too busy talking that one night we spent there to even notice the taste.

"You know each other?" Yelan questioned, raising a thin eyebrow.

"Yes, we do," Tomoyo answered, bowing down low. "My name is Tomoyo Daidouji, and I'm Eriol's girlfriend. I'm so glad that I finally get to meet his...extended family," she said, wondering what else there was to say after "his." I glanced over at Syaoran, who was now also sitting down but still in minor shock. He was gaping so oddly at the two of us that he resembled a goldfish.

"All this time you've been dating my roommate's best friend!" Syaoran exclaimed in an accusatory voice directed to Eriol, who was smirking the entire time and leaning against the arm of one of the sofas.

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to ruin the surprise."

"You knew this was going to happen?" I asked incredulously.

"Of course I did. When Tomoyo told me over the phone about you having a new roommate that you didn't like very much, I knew it almost instantly. The way she described him, I mean. Strange dark brown hair that couldn't seem to lie flat, a kind of mysterious, modest guy. Who certainly wasn't Japanese. His name certainly helped, though." He added, still smirking.

"You said I was a mysterious modest guy?" Syaoran asked her, sounding quite flattered.

"Of course she did," I said, disguising the sudden twinge of anger I felt rise up in my stomach, "If Eriol asked, I could've told you that!" Why was I so angry about whether or not some other girl commented Syaoran? I really couldn't care less...really! And anyway, Tomoyo was only telling the truth, and she already has a boyfriend! Afterall, Syaoran really is mysterious, modest, good looking...

Stop! Why on earth was I thinking that? Syaoran, you mind-stalker - GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

"Oh, she's just as pretty as that Sakura one," I heard the four sisters saying behind their hands, "I love the colour of her eyes...I think I'll get contact lenses that have that colour. I can't believe Eriol snagged a girl like that. She's obviously very sweet, just like Syaoran's girlfriend..." Both our cheeks flushed. They were horrible at whispering - even Syaoran heard!

"Guys, stop it," he said, just as embarrassed as I was, "she's not my girlfriend, for the last time..."

Tomoyo narrowed her eyes at me sneakily, sharing with me one of those best friend looks that the other could immediately tell of what they were trying to say, "Not for long," I knew she was trying to say. I nudged her in the ribs, shaking my head miserably at her. She could only just laugh. That's what best friends always do, right? Laugh while the other one gets annoyed out of their minds by the fact that their best friend won't stay out of their love life...

"Come," Yelan said, stretching out her arms and standing straight, "All our guests must get settled. Xiao-Lang, Miss Kinomoto, Meiling, Miss Daidouji, Eriol - your luggage has already been brought up, I expect. Once you have unpacked and done whatever else you feel you need to do - please meet us in the dining hall where we will begin our dinner,"

We all stood up and filed out of the room.

And oh, what an interesting dinner that would be.

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**Want to rock my socks? Review :)**

Until next chapter, readers!

Signing off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	12. Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: If I were to own CCS and its characters, that would mean I'm responsible enough to do so. PFFFF. Yeah right. So I don't own squat, okay? Thanks :).

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts/exaggerated words  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions  
**bold font** - my point of view

Now...on with chapter twelve!

**Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve**

**Syaoran -**

Returning home that day, I can't really explain what I'd been feeling. Lots of mixed emotions, really. But I can definitely tell you that I was feeling really nervous. You probably know why though, seeing the way my mom and my sisters acted when they first got to meet Sakura, or Card Mistress, as they call her.

I can also tell you that I was majorly surprised when Eriol showed up with Tomoyo. I was just as shocked as anyone else in the room, but Sakura couldn't seem to believe it! She was really happy, too. Almost as happy as Tomoyo. But Tomoyo was going out of her mind happy. Sakura was keeping her cool. I wondered why. I knew if I were her, I'd be ecstatic!

Wei showed us to all of our bedrooms. I got my old room of course, and Sakura got the one across from me. Beside me was Tomoyo, and across from her was Eriol. As much as I wanted to blame my sisters for the room arrangements, putting all the happy couples excluding Sakura and I across from each other, I knew it was just a coincidence. My room was always surrounded by the guest bedrooms.

We all took turns seeing each others rooms. It started getting really hard for me to believe that our room arrangements were just coincidence, though. Everyone's room seemed to go perfectly with the person that was going to be sleeping in it.

My room was just like how I'd left it when I when I left for college, but there was no layer of dust on any of my things, because I knew my mother always sent someone cleaning it. The window curtains were a shade of dark green, my absolute favourite colour, and my bed covers were silver and white. There were pictures of me on the wall, and trophies on the drawers. If you were just like any old person coming to visit my room, you'd think I had the life of every other normal kid.

Basically everything in Eriol's room was completely blue and white. The walls resembled the colour of the ocean, and his bed covers were white and baby blue. The only things that weren't in any shade of his hair colour was the mahogany dresser and the mirror hanging on the wall, reflecting back to him his perfect bedroom.

Tomoyo's was all violet. Violet sheets, violet curtains, violet everything. Once having entered and talking with Sakura about how much she loved it, she immediately began unpacking her things, placing stuff just as violet as her walls on top of the bed side tables and such.

Yep, everyone's room seemed to match everyone's personality. Except for Sakura's.

It was all grey and white. It looked almost like an asylum to me. Tomoyo tried keeping a smile on her face, but I could tell that she didn't like the idea of her best friend sleeping in such an almost depressing room. We all had the way we felt about the room written all over us. Except for Sakura, of course.

There was no trace of emotion on her face when she dragged her fingers across the silk sheets, and the stone fireplace. And although her room was the weirdest one, we all couldn't help but admit it was the best, either. Not even I had a fireplace in my room. But knowing my mother, she just had to give the Card Mistress an extra special living space.

"This is...nice," Tomoyo said, adding a little bit of question in her voice after saying the last word.

"It's...weird." I replied, speaking my mind, "That's just so strange. The room across from mine...I could've sworn that it was the most colourful one. I wonder what my mother did to it?"

"You know your mom," Eriol said, hitting me on the arm, "she's always rearranging things. She can't help it."

I shrugged, "I guess so."

And we all looked to Sakura, ready to listen to what she had to say about her room. And like I expected, she didn't say a single thing. Her jaw was in place, her eyes were was empty as ever. And as if sensing that we were all looking at her, she turned around, and gave us an awkward look.

"Sakura?" Tomoyo said, staring hard.

"This'll be just fine," Sakura answered.

"Are you sure?" I asked, just incase she wasn't feeling right, or just plain colour blind.

"Yes." She answered, "I'm perfectly fine with this."

Suddenly, the zipper on her shoulder bag slowly began to unzip itself. Out from the bag fluttered a tiny yellow plush looking winged animal, that looked quite dazed and tired. I rolled my eyes. None of us were surprised to see Kero. We were all so eager to hear about what he had to complain about.

"Sakura," he said, his eyes scanning every nook and cranny of the room, "this is kind of depressing, don't you think?"

We all followed her out of the room, "I don't understand why you guys dont like it," she said briskly, walking quite rushed down the hallway. For the first time in a very long time, Kero flew silenty beside her head, not shoved away by Sakura so no one would see him. Everyone in the mansion knew about her and her powers, so they had to know about her gaurdians, too.

"It's plain and simple. Just because it's not colourful or anything, doesn't mean I won't like it."

"That's not what we were saying, Sakura," Tomoyo said, looking at me for support. I gave her a questioning look, asking her through my eyes why Sakura had the attitude. She shrugged, and walked into the dining hall with me, where my mother, sisters, and Meiling were already seated.

Sakura took her seat beside Tomoyo, me and in front of her, and Eriol across from her, so that he was in front of his girlfriend. Kind of like how our bedrooms were. We tucked ourselves underneath the table, and sat in silence, patiently waiting for our food to arrive. I hadn't eaten anything on the plane, so believe me when I say I was starving.

Kero fluttered up to my mom, who was of course seated at the head of the table, and, just like before, in the biggest and comfiest one. He bent his head down low, and my mother could only smile and pat his head. Kero, I knew, was probably a little angry. That kind of action towards him always made him feel like a stuffed animal, which he repeatedly said - he was not.

My mother smiled, "No, Cerberus. I do not believe you are a stuffed animal." I stared at the two, wondering how on earth my mother knew that he hated it when people did that to him. After being away from her in so long, I almost forgot the fact that she, being so talented in magic in more ways than Sakura and I combined, could tell what anyone was feeling, without even glimpsing at their aura.

Kero smiled back at her, and flew to his place beside Sakura, where he seated himself neatly ontop of a napkin. He sat cross legged, his tiny little yellow arms folded across his chest, his eyes closed. I rolled my eyes, knowing that the fact that his face was neutral, like my mother's always was, wouldn't impress her. She probably wouldn't even notice or care.

After just a few more minutes of waiting, maids began piling out of the kitchen with a number of delicious smelling platters balanced on their arms. They set them before us, allowing us to take however much of the food we wanted. My mother was last to get any food, making sure that we all had something on our plates.

"This is delicious," Tomoyo said smiling at her, eyes bright.

Mother nodded politely back. Afterall, she wasn't the one who made the food.

"Was your flight to the mansion enjoyable?" She asked Sakura and I.

Sakura nodded, food still in her mouth. She tried to swallow it as quickly as she could without choking. "It was great," she answered, her hand blocking the front of her mouth as she spoke with a slightly full mouth, "I'd never gotten service like that before. The plane was very nice also."

She nodded again in both understanding and politeness.

"Tomoeda was really nice, Mother." I said, trying to strike conversation.

Mother swallowed, "Which reminds me, son," she said, stabbing at a piece of meat on her plate, but not eating it, "you never told me why you were in Tomoeda in the first place. Care to explain?"

"Oooh, Tomoeda!" One of his sisters squealed, "I went there for a business trip once! It was amazing!"

I glanced over towards Sakura, sitting right across from me. It seemed that after she had spoken to my mother, she didn't bother paying anymore attention. She was staring down at her plate, silently picking at all the things she didn't want to eat. She wasn't ignoring me for all I knew, she was just being careless.

Since Sakura wasn't looking at me, I couldn't really gain permission from her to see if it was okay that I spoke about her dad. So I looked to Tomoyo. She was staring back at me also. She shrugged, knowing what I was trying to ask. So I did too.

"We were visiting Sakura's family," I said.

"Oh really?" She asked, this time to Sakura. Tomoyo nudged Sakura in the ribs, and she immediately looked up. She turned her head from me to Tomoyo, obviously not knowing what my mother was asking her about. So she winged it.

"Yes," she replied, not knowing what she was saying yes to.

"And you invited Xiao-Lang? That's very nice of you,"

"Actually - " I began, trying to explain that she hadn't invited me at all. That I'd decided to go with her without her consent.

"Yes. I...I thought it'd be nice to have him come along."

Wrong move. Mother eyed her suspiciously, twisting her head to one side. Sakura smiled moronically back at her, not knowing why she had such a weird look on her face. My mom knew she was lying. She saw immediately that she wasn't telling the truth, and didn't even break a sweat trying to find out.

But she didn't say anything about it.

Instead, she started to pry.

"So tell me about your father," she said interestedly.

Sakura began to pick at her food again. Tomoyo was watching her from the corner of her eye.

"That's not really much of your business, now is it, mom?"

"Now, Xiao-Lang," she said, flicking my statement away, "I'm just asking."

"He's...he's fine," Sakura said. Even I knew he wasn't fine!

"He is?" Tomoyo asked, surprised. Sakura gave her another one of those dangerous, cautious looks that meant she'd tell her everything later. Tomoyo didn't seem to understand, because she only started questioning her further.

"What? Is your dad alright? You didn't say anything about him when we were sitting on the couch!" Tomoyo rambled on, while Sakura, Eriol and I both wished she would shove her fork very, very deep down her throat so then maybe she'd shutup.

"Because," Sakura answered through gritted teeth, a fake smile on her face, "I'm going to tell you later tonight." She looked back at mom, "Thank you for your conern, Mrs. Li, but I'd rather not talk about my dad right now."

She nodded, "I understand."

You shouldn't have been prying in the first place!

"So then tell me," mom began again. I sighed in exasperation and threw down my fork.

"Mom!" I said, "When will you ever stop asking questions?"

"Xiao-Lang," she said sternly, "I will not be spoken to like that! And how am I supposed to get accquainted with our guests if I know nothing of them? I'm simply trying to get to know them a little better, so that I won't have complete strangers living in my house."

I saw Sakura's back straighten just a little bit. "It's fine, Syaoran. What would you like to know, Mrs. Li?"

Before beginning, she turned to Tomoyo and said something like, "I'll start with you later,"

I smacked my forehead.

"So, Card Mistress," Sakura flushed, "If one of your gaurdians are here, where is the other?"

"Oh," she said, "Yue is on an archeolgical dig somewhere in Egypt. When my father fell ill and grew too old to continue with his job, Yukito, his human form, took over for him, and my dad just stuck with teaching at the university."

"Interesting, interesting. So please, tell me about yourself."

Sakura flushed, "Well...there's not much to say."

I rolled my eyes at her, "There's loads to say, Sakura!"

She kicked my foot underneath the table. I groaned silently. I looked to Tomoyo for support. "Yeah, Sakura!" She said also, "There's lots of stuff to say about you, I don't even know where to begin. Where would you like to start, Mrs. Li?" She asked happily, as if talking about Sakura was the thing that made her most content.

"Well, does she have any special man in her life?"

"Mom!" I said again. She threw a single hand forward to silence me.

"Well..." Tomoyo droned. She looked at me through the corner of her eye, "No,"

Suddenly, a large smile appeared on my mother's face. She looked at both me and Sakura, but I was the only one of us to notice because Sakura was back to picking at her food again. I glared at Tomoyo from across the table. Mother had done it again. She'd basically read Tomoyo's mind, which told her that Sakura and I liked each other.

And, well, who was I to deny it?

I'd asked her out, hadn't I? I'm man enough to admit it.

I liked Sakura. There.

But did she like me back? That was the question.

Mother's eyes closed in on mine, looking right through my amber orbs, passed all my body parts, and straight through to my soul. Her smile only grew wider. _She knew I liked Sakura_. My eyes closed tightly, as if I were in pain, when really, I was in embarassment. No one seemed to notice, which I was thankful for.

_Dammit, mom, mind your own business!_ I hated it when she did that. Especially when my sisters and I were just kids.

The way she knew how we felt in an instant was like wearing our hearts on our sleeves.

But I have to admit, without her prying, and withour her creepy mind reading, the night wouldn't have been all that interesting.

Thankfully however, she let the subject rest. For the moment.

"Is there anything you'd like to do here?" She asked.

"Actually," Sakura answered, "I'd love it if we could go and visit your finest parks. The parks where all the trees and flowers are growing, and the mall, most definitely. I'd love to buy some souvenirs to bring back home with me to the college."

She smiled again, "That we could definitely do. And, now, as odd of a question as this may be, I'm just curious, darling. What exactly is the colour of your aura?"

Before I answered for Sakura again, I could've sworn I saw her knuckles grow white. She couldn't have been holding her fork that tightly, could she? "Mom," I said, for what felt like the millionth time that night, "What kind of question is that? And what do you care? And further more, what does it matter?"

"Do I have to repeat myself, son?" She asked me, "I'm just a little curious. I just want to learn more abour our guests, understood? I won't have you calling me 'mom' like that again in such a voice. Are we clear, Xiao-Lang Li?" I slouched deep in my chair and fixed a cold, hard glare at her. She seemed uneffected by it.

"Yes, mother."

"Actually," Kero began, food stains all over his mouth, "That's an odd one to explain,"

"You mean her aura?" Tomoyo asked, "Yeah, that is kind of weird. Not that I can see it or anything. Kero's just told me a lot about it."

"Care to explain?" Mother said.

"Well, before, when Sakura had only just mastered the cards, her aura was a bright pink colour. But quite quickly after she won the battle against Mikoro and managed to change all of the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards, her aura suddenly changed into silver,"

I looked at Sakura. I'd never known that.

She was now looking insanely pale, might I add.

"That's quite interesting," Mother replied.

"Yeah," Tomoyo said shrugging, "I guess it just comes with being their new master or something,"

"No, no. I don't think so." Mother said in a thoughtful tone of voice.

We sat in silence for a while. The only thing that could be heard was the clattering of the cutlery against the plates and our chewing. When suddenly, my mother talking once more just to add more noise the room asked whether or not we had a good time in Tomoeda. I nodded and said of course, even though we'd only just spent a day there.

"It was really great," I said, Sakura nodded in agreement, "We only really spent a day there, but we visited some really great places. It was really fun."

"Oh, that sounds good. Card Mistress, my Xiao-Lang wasn't a bother, was he?"

"No, no of course not," Sakura assured, "He was...great." She looked at me with soft eyes, her voice gentle and smooth, "We visited all of my childhood places, and I'm...I'm really glad that I got to share all of that with him. Other than Tomoyo...I think Syaoran's the only other one I'd like to be there with."

I blinked, and smiled warmly at her. She smiled back at me, staring straight into my amber eyes. She looked as if she was surprised at herself for saying such a thing, like she didn't even know she said it aloud, which I'm sure she didn't.

Then suddenly, for only just a single second, her aura burst. Except this time, it was not silver like when I'd last seen it. This time...it was the bright pink colour Kero had talked about. The pink surrounded her entire figure, hugging each and every curve of her body.

And just as quickly as it came, it was gone. Mother, Kero, Eriol and I were all looking at her dumbfounded. Tomoyo, my sisters, and Meiling must have felt a really small sensation, because her aura was actually quite powerful. But all four of us had seen it and felt it.

"That's odd," Tomoyo said, flicking her hair and breathing in deeply, "did it just get warmer?"

"I..." Sakura stammered, "I don't know." She said it as though she was answering our questions, and not Tomoyo's. She dropped her fork so that it clattered noisily against the plate, and got up abruptly. She excused herself as quick as possible and ran to her bedroom.

I looked to my mother for an explenation. She coud only just continue eating her food.

None of us knew what had just happened. The only good thing that came from that situation was that my mother didn't have to read Sakura's mind to see how she was feeling. Sakura showed us all on her own, whether it was by mistake or on purpose, I still knew -

I guess Sakura really did like me back.

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Tell me what you think please? x)

**Be cooler than me (if that's possible. HA.) - read and review :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	13. Forever Spring

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: Sadly, CCS does not belong to me, nor will it EVER. Pfff. I wish.

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts/exaggerated words  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions  
**bold font **- point of view

Now...on with chapter thirteen!

**Forever Spring**

I did not come back to finish the rest of my dinner that day. I only just ran up those winding steps, and threw myself onto my silky silver sheets. Grrr. Just one day at Syaoran's enormous mansion and I make a complete idiot of myself infront of his mother! Want to talk about bad first impressions? Try talking about what happened to me!

On second thought, however, it was a pretty good idea to talk about it. I myself, had no idea what went on with my body down at the dining hall. I'm not that much of a moron, though, I know that the colour of my old aura burst. But why? It happened right when I was looking at Syaoran, gazing directly into those beautiful amber eyes of his...

But that can't be it. It must've been some weird malfunction. Because my aura is not pink anymore. It's silver. Always will be silver...and I hope Syaoran and the others that could see it didn't think that it happened just because of him. They'd think I had feelings for him or something, when really, _I don't._

But the more I thought about it, the more I asked myself, _does he like me?_

He did, afterall, ask me out on a date. But what should that matter to me? Not that I'm bragging in any way, but idiots like Duncan had their stupid crushes on me all the time, and I never gave them the light of day. So I should've just stopped thinking about it. The fact that Syaoran might have a possible crush on me shouldn't matter - that's _his_ prerogative.

_Because I, in no possible way, have absolutely any romantic feelings for Syaoran Li, whatsoever!_

"Sakura?" I heard. My door creaked open, and Tomoyo's head popped in through the tiny space. I sighed and waved her over to the bed. I should've expected to see Tomoyo. Best friends always come to the rescue when the other makes a complete fool of themselves in front of people such as Yelan Li.

"Did I just hear what I think I just heard?" She asked me.

I raised a questioning eyebrow, "What? Me stuttering 'I - I - I don't k - know!' like an idiot infront of Syaoran's mother? Uh, yeah, you did." I said miserably.

"N_ooo_..." Tomoyo said, the O's in her 'No' dripping with suspicion, "Just before I came into the room. I could've sworn I heard you say that you, 'in no possible way, had absolutely any romantic feelings for Syaoran Li, whatsoever!'" She smiled viciously at me, as the miserable frown I had on my face got smeared off.

I sat up on the bed, facing away from Tomoyo's idiot smirk. I tried to gulp the large knot that had formed in my throat, but with no luck. That was alright with me, though. Death seemed like a better option than admitting to Tomoyo that I was actually talking to myself about Syaoran and my feelings for him...I didn't even know I'd said it aloud!

"Gee," Tomoyo said, trying to sound as discreet as possible, "sounds to me like you were trying to convince yourself more than me," She looked at me for a response, but I gave none. I threw a pillow at her, hoping that it would wipe that smirk which she was still wearing, right off of her petite face.

"No..." I finally replied, going with the first excuse that came to mind, "I said that, only because I knew you were standing outside the door!" She gave me a look which told me that I sucked at lying, when I certainly did not! I've lied to Syaoran many times, but I guess that he, not knowing me since I was a little kid, couldn't see right through me when I was lying.

"Fine, fine." Tomoyo answered, getting up and walking towards the door. Instead of walking out of it, she closed it and came running back onto the bed. "Instead of talking about Syaoran, let's talk about why you're here!" I opened my mouth in protest. "No complaints! You obviously know why I'm here, so I have nothing to answer."

I sighed. She _did_ have a point. So instead of having to put it off, I told her about everything we did, and everything that happened while we were in Tomeoda. I told her about the kiss I gave Syaoran on the cheek, which she squealed delightfully at, the trip to the park where I ran into Miko, which she grew angry at, and the trip to see my dad, in which her eyes grew full of tears.

"Why did you do that?" She shrieked, hitting me over the head with a pillow, "Just leave your dad in the hospital like that. You should've stayed with him," Tomoyo sounded absolutely disgusted with me, so I did my best to try and lie to her.

"I'm telling you, I couldn't answer him when he told me he loved me because the stupid machine thing started beeping really loud, okay? I thought he went and died, but a nurse came rushing in and kicked me out of the room before I could do anything else!" Tomoyo seemed unconvinced, but she let the subject rest.

"And," she added, "it's not like I'm not happy to see you or anything, but I still don't see why you could've just stayed with Touya while Syaoran came back home here."

"Are you joking?" I replied, "When Syaoran told me he had to go back home, I couldn't let him go by himself. He told me all about his mom, and, what friend kind of friend would I be if I let him come back here alone? My dad would've wanted me to. And even though Touya didn't, I eventually got the best of him."

"Hmm, whatever you say."

Tomoyo began to make her way out of the room, "If you're not coming back to join us, I want you showered and in bed!" I rolled my eyes. She was like a personal manager. Just before walking down the hall, she poked her head in one last time, "And don't bother unpacking your clothes for tomorrow. I've already picked our what you're going to wear from my summer clothes line." And with a wink, she was gone.

Stupid Tomoyo. But hey, you got to love her.

**_xxxxxx_**

I tossed and turned the entire night. Another jet lag. I need to stop traveling so much.

I got out of my bed and opened my door just a little bit. The moonlight shone through the window, casting an eery glow down the long corridor. I tried not to think about it, but there it was, in my head. Ghosts. Stupid Ghosts. Stupid moonlight. Stupid Silence. Stupid big house that gives me the creeps!

I silently made my way down the hall, my shoulders hunched. My eyes darted from side to side, and over my shoulder to try and see if I was being followed by a silvery mist the shape of a dangling cloth, with holes for eyes and a voice so chilling it would raise the hairs on the back of your neck and a see through -

I was getting just a little too carried away. That's what my imagination does.

Shivering, I brushed my hand over my opposite arm over and over again. Ugh, the stupidness of it all! I was getting goosebumps, and I hate goosebumps! Why did this huge mansion have to creep me out so much? I'm the Card Mistress for heaven's sake! I'm supposed to be brave, I'm supposed to be anything but scared!

But I just couldn't help it. I froze, mid step, scrunched my eyes closed, ready to turn around. _Nothing will be there_. _Nothing will be there_. _There will _not_ be a ghost standing infront of me_. I turned around and screamed. At least I tried to anyway.

A hand clumsily covered my mouth, depriving me of all my ability to scream.

"What is your problem?" After I had kept from screaming, the hand roughly came detached from my mouth. I turned swiftly on my heel, only to be face to face with Syaoran, in green silk pajamas. He fixed a glare at me, and I wondered why. Just because I was about to scream the living hell out of me, didn't give him a reason to be mad at me...

So what if it did? "Don't scare me like that!" I scolded, "Do you want to wake up the entire mansion?"

"Of course not!" He answered, "Why do you think I covered your mouth anyway?"

I pouted and crossed my arms over my chest. Syaoran rolled his eyes, and silently beckoned for me to follow him down the corridor. I shook my head from side to side. He gave me a look that kind of said, "Scaredy-cat." I glared at him, and he kept on giving me that look. Stupid Syaoran! What does he know? I'm the Card Mistress. I'm not scared of anything!

When he's around...

He held out his hand. I hesitated.

Oh, what's stopping me?

I grabbed his hand and did not intend on letting go until we arrived at our destination, which by the way, I had no idea where that was. Syaoran just pulled me down the hall, turning a corner every now and then. Our little midnight adventure was getting just a little tiring. Until we finally reached the kitchen.

Syaoran turned on the light, and the entire room became illuminated. There were two, large marble tables that had knife holders, drawers filled with the finest cutlery, and all that jazz. Pots and pans were hanging from various bars, along with certain stirring spoons, spatulas, you know, all the essential things one needs in a kitchen.

There were three fridges. Holy crap. One fridge contained vegetables, another frozen desserts which were pre-made by the servants, and other ingredients used for cooking in the last fridge. Syaoran wiggled his eyebrows and walked over to the second fridge. He opened it, and scanned it up and down.

He bent down, and opened a bottom drawer of the fridge. I saw him smile with satisfaction, and brought out the largest bucket of ice cream there ever was. He plumped it onto one of the marble tables and opened another drawer, pulling out two silver spoons with fancy handles. I ripped mine out of his grasp and pulled the lid off of the bucket.

Just as I was about to dig in, I stopped and frowned. This was..._chocolate_ ice cream!

Syaoran, who was right beside me however, dug his spoon as far down as it could go and shoved in a mouthful of the icy chocolate. Brown stains were clearly visible on the sides of his mouth, and I would've laughed at his cutness if I hadn't been so disappointed. Chocolate ice cream? I'd suddenly lost my appetite.

"What's the matter?" Syaoran asked, "Not a big fan of chocolate ice cream?"

I looked at the huge bucket plainly, and dropped my spoon, "Actually...no."

Syaoran's smile vanished. He stared at me blankly and said my name. "Sakura..." he said. And then he said it again, "Sakura...?" More to himself than me, he smiled and said, "Sakura!"

My eyebrows were raised as high as they could go, "Uh...yeah?"

Instead of answering, he once again walked up to the second fridge and opened a different bottom drawer. He pulled out yet another bucket, and placed it proudly before me. Slowly, I looked from the bucket to Syaoran, who was eagerly telling me to open it. So? I did as he asked, and peeled off the lid.

Strawberry ice cream!

I beamed at Syaoran, who was beaming right back at me. "I almost forgot what your name meant. Strawberry ice cream is the closest thing we have to cherries here." He replied.

"It's a good thing you didn't!" I replied happily just before taking a spoonful of the strawberry ice cream and shoving it in my mouth.

**_xxxxxx_**

The next morning, I woke up with a grunt. My stomach was so full up, I could barely roll onto my back. I intended to sleep in that day, until Tomoyo had so rudely burst into my room, pulling apart my curtains and yelling in a high pitched voice, "Rise and shine, sunshine!" I groaned, and threw a pillow at her. I missed horribly.

"Geesh," Tomoyo said, taking a seat on my bed, "How long did you stay up last night?"

"Long enough to want to stay in today," I replied, not wanting to tell her about what Syaoran and I had done the other night. I shoved my head far into my pillow.

Tomoyo clicked her tongue, "Well that just won't do, will it?" She pulled the blankets off of me, and I scrunched my legs up towards my chest to create the warmth that was so rudely taken away from me, "I have things to tell you," Something about her voice made me think it was gossip. And I couldn't help the perking up of my ears.

"Oh?" I asked curiously and sitting straight, "Like?"

Tomoyo giggled, "When I woke up today, Mrs. Li was knocking on my door. So I open it, right?" I nod, "And then I invite her in, right?" I nod once more, "And she takes a seat, righ --" I angrily tell her to speed things up, "Alright, alright! So she comes in, takes a seat, and she starts asking me all the questions she asked you at dinner!"

"An interrogation?" I said curiously.

"Not really. She just wanted to know stuff about me. Like if I'd had any other previous boyfriends, and what I liked to do outside of school. I obviously told her I liked to design, and then she told me she'd love to try on one of my outfits. I'm so happy!" She cried, clapping her hands together, "I'm so glad she likes me!"

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, "What made you think she wouldn't?" Tomoyo flushed slightly, "But anyway, where's the stupid outfit you wanted me to wear?"

"Oh!" She said, running over to my drawer and taking a nicely folded dress that had a hat placed neatly on top of it, "Here you go!" I took it reluctantly.

"A dress?"

"No, a _summer_ dress." She corrected.

"You know I hate dresses!" I exclaimed.

Tomoyo began making her way out of the door, "You know I don't care!"

**_xxxxxx_**

**Syaoran -**

The next morning after me and Sakura's little "midnight adventure" as she'd so cutely called it, I'd been waiting for her at the dining hall, where me, my sisters, Eriol, and mother were all seated and eating pancakes. The room filled with gossip from my sisters, and the latest couple that they'd proudly got together.

"We're so good at this," Feimei said, clapping her hands together.

"Who will be our next victims?" Sheifa asked evilly.

Their heads swivelled round and round, as if their next "victims" were sitting right in the dining hall. When suddenly, all eight eyes of my sisters landed on me. I looked up from my plate, and dropped my fork suddenly. "_No_," I said firmly, glaring at all four of them. I'd also noticed that my mother was not eating anymore either, but staring at all of us quite interestedly.

"What?" Fuutie said innocently, "We haven't done anything,"

"But you're going to," I said, before Fenren could interrupt me, "I know you are!"

"Oh, little brother," they sighed, "you're always blaming us for things we haven't done. You don't even know what we're thinking about, yet you always assume the worst. How rude, little brother."

"Oh," I said sarcastically, "so you mean to tell me you weren't just thinking about trying to get me and Sakura together?" They all looked at each other, like four, big, annoying deer (or does) caught in the headlights.

"So," one of them said conversationally, ignoring my comment completely, "tell us about that english assignment that you two are writing. It's about each other, am I correct?" I nodded slowly. They weren't getting any ideas, were they? "Oh," she continued, eyeing another one of my sisters evilly, "she told us she'd already started on yours."

They all nodded in agreement. "She has, has she?" I asked.

"You know," Fenren stated, "you should try reading it. It's very interesting."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not going to read her essay on me. I know and told her everything there is on that ten thousand word essay." All my sisters giggled.

"Let's just say she added some things,"

I stared at my mother for support. All she could do was raise an eyebrow, and continue with her food. I then turned to my sisters, but they'd all started eating again, the topic of Sakura's essay on me completely out of sight, out of mind. Or so I'd thought.

How was I supposed to know that they were lying?

Tomoyo waltzed into the dining hall, a pair of white capris on, and a white stretchy, womens polo shirt. She took her seat beside Eriol, who she kissed her lightly on the cheek, and began with her food. Before doing so however, she stared down the hall, as if beckoning for someone to come in.

I turned my head towards the direction of the hall, and saw Sakura's slim figure appearing from out of the shadows. Hands behind her back, she came strutting in, a tiny blush upon her cheeks. She was wearing a white flowing summer dress that had cherry blossoms embroidered all over it. Covering her auburn hair was a sunflower hat, which complimented the dress nicely.

"Oh, Card Mistress," mother said slowly, "you look absolutely wonderful."

Tomoyo's smile was basically the main source of light in the room the moment my mother said that. "Miss Daidouji, is this one of your creations?" Tomoyo nodded, "Well, you must make me something, if that's not any trouble for you," she suggested. Her smile reached from ear to ear. Eriol was looking at her proudly.

My sisters were up and at it before you could blink. Two of them all over Sakura, the other two over Tomoyo. Their blushes grew more visible with each second my sisters complimented them, "This dress looks perfect on you," "I can't believe you designed that!" "How absolutely beautiful! Little brother, doesn't she look beautiful?"

Everyone stared at me. What? Was my crush on her _that_ obvious?

"Yeah, Syaoran," Eriol said slowly, as if I could not comprehend the question that my sister had asked me, "Doesn't Sakura look nice? I certainly think she does. Anything my Tomoyo makes looks wonderful on anybody," he added, taking hold of her hand and squeezing it tightly. Tomoyo's blush turned at least ten different shades of red.

"Yeah..." I answered, staring at Sakura, whose eyes were boring into mine like she had X-ray vision, "She looks great." She stared at me for quite a while, before nodding in thanks. She sat down infront of me, avoiding my eyes. But that was alright, I didn't feel like looking into her eyes either...

"So," Tomoyo chimed after swallowing a mouthful of pancakes, "is there anything planned for us today?"

"Why, yes." Fuutie said, "Before we take you to any parks, my sisters and I would love it if you came with us to one of our most favourite restaraunts. You'll love it. Really." Both Eriol and I looked at Tomoyo and Sakura. We already knew which restaraunt they were talking about, all we really needed to know was whether it was okay or not with them that we went.

"That sounds fun!" Tomoyo exclaimed excitedly. Sakura nodded in agreement.

I thought of our day plans in my head. A trip to a restaraunt, planned by my sisters.

Why did this sound just a little bit suspicious to me? Oh yes, because my sisters aren't just crazy romantics - they're matchmakers.

**_xxxxxx_**

**Sakura -**

My second time riding in a limosine! As we walked outside of the Li Mansion and onto the sidewalk, the others and I took notice of the big black limosine that was parked on the side of the road, where Wei was standing patiently, tall and sturdy. I smiled, and ran up to him. I embraced him lightly.

"It's so nice to see you. Where did you disappear to yesterday?" I questioned, when I'd left the others trailing along behind me, "I thought you were going to have dinner with us?"

A grin spread across Wei's wise old face, "No, Miss Kinomoto. I'm very sorry that I could not join you for your first dinner here in China. I had very important errands to attend to." He bowed slightly, and kissed my hand again. I blushed.

When the others finally caught up to me, I introduced Tomoyo to Wei, for she was the only one that did not already know him. He too also kissed her hand, and she blushed just as red as I did. Eriol, Syaoran and his sisters all shook his hand with smiles on their faces, and we all got inside the limosine one by one.

Tomoyo got inside first, then Eriol, then me, then Syaoran. And then all of Syaoran's sisters took their seats across from us.

In just a few minutes the engine started and we were on our way to the restaraunt. I didn't eat much of my breakfast because Syaoran and I had eaten so much the night before, and the ride to the restaraunt was long enough to make my stomach start grumbling. I couldn't wait to get there.

Once we arrived, we piled out of the car. Standing before all of us was a large building that just reaked of delicious tasting food. My mouth watered and my stomach grumbled. Syaoran chuckled, and I smiled at him. Why did I have the weird feeling that I was being watched by four pairs of eyes?

Syaoran's sisters lead us into the restaraunt and spoke with the man behind the front desk. He smiled and bowed, and gestured for us to walk far past him, where a large dining hall was. There were tons and tons of tables of all sizes, along with trolleys that had these ingredients and cutlery on them.

We were lead into a special room, where there was a set of two tables sitting right across from one another. Hanging from hooks were eight aprons. We all plucked them from off of the hooks and tied them on. Then, a waitress came in, wheeling a trolley that had those ingredients and cutlery on it.

"Welcome!" The waitress said cheerfully, "All the ingredients for your cinnamon buns are right on this trolley!"

We were making the food. I smiled. That sounded fun!

Once having said all our thanks, Syaoran's sisters took charge and told us the basics when making cinnamon buns. I listened carefully, because I wasn't very good at cooking, and I wanted to do well on this. After reaching an understanding of how to make them, we washed our hands, took some flour, and began.

After mixing a couple of things, Syaoran, Eriol, Tomoyo and I had successfully made two big bowls of this gooey dough, which was really fun to play with. We were all just playing with it, really. But who was I to complain? I was having a pretty good time.

Tomoyo giggled childishly, "This is so gooey! I love it!" She ran her fingers through the soft substance. I followed suit.

"You're all still on the dough?" Sheifa asked. She came in, holding a tray of freshly baked cinnamon buns. Our jaws dropped. I'd forgot that all of Syaoran's sisters left the room, because they'd already finished making the dough. After popping it in the oven, I guess they were finished.

"That's okay," Feimei stated, dropping another tray infront of us, "You can have some of ours!"

Almost immediately, we took hold of at least two or three cinnamon buns and started pigging out. They were all laughing really hard, because of the fact that we were acting like complete pigs, but I was only giggling. I seemed to notice that everyone had this white stuff on their buns, I wasn't quite sure what it was. Now that I think of it, I still don't know what it was.

"Want to try some?" Fuutie asked me. She held up a spoon, which had the white stuff dripping off of it. I eyed the spoon.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Yogurt," she replied, a playful grin on her face.

I frowned. "Yogurt? Mmm...I'm not exactly a yogurt-lover."

"Try it, Sakura!" Tomoyo suggested, that same grin on her face. I looked at the both of them awkwardly. They were both staring at each other back and forth, as if passing on some secret message through their eyes. Hey! I did that with Tomoyo all the time. How come I didn't understand what she was saying this time? Probably because she wasn't saying it to me.

"Tomoyo..." I began, "You know I hate yogurt. Ever since we were eight years old -- "

"Trust me," she stated, taking the spoon from Fuutie and pouring the white substance all over a certain cinnamon bun, and shoving it infront of my face. I looked at it disgustedly. The yogurt was lathered all over the cinnamon bun, and she expected me to eat it? How long had Tomoyo known me?

"No, really, it's - "

" - Come on, Sakura!" She coaxed, inching towards me.

"I'm fine, I had too much anyway - " I backed away.

" - Stop lying, you'll love it, trust me!" She came closer.

"Tomoyo, I mean it! I hate yogurt and you know it, so just - " Before I could stop her, she shoved practically the entire cinnamon bun inside my mouth. I thought I was going to vomit, because that's what yogurt always made me do. But, instead, I closed my eyes in delight as I chewed on it.

It actually tasted totally awesome! It tasted...nothing like yogurt.

"You big fat liars!" I accused, after having swallowed, "That wasn't yogurt!"

Fuutie and Tomoyo laughed, "Well of course it wasn't. Did you really expect me to make you eat something you didn't like?" Tomoyo questioned. She was right, she never would've made me eat yogurt, because afterall, she knew I hated it.

"You know, Sakura," Fuutie said, wrapping her arms around my shoulders, "You just have to learn to try new things. Maybe you'll like it, or end up loving it!"

I turned my head and took a fleeting glance towards Syaoran, who was fooling around with Eriol, flour spread across his nose. For what seemed like the millionth time that day, my cheeks grew warm with embarrassment as Fuutie's arm around my shoulders grew tighter.

**_xxxxxx_**

**Syaoran -**

"Parks, playgrounds, jogging trails!" Sakura said half excitedly. Something about her voice made me think she wasn't as excited as she wanted to be, "How much longer until we get there?" She asked impatiently, her feet tapping against the bottom of the limosine as if she could not contain herself.

"Just a minute," Feimei answered, looking out the window, "You're going to love this park, I know it." In exactly a minute, Wei parked along the sidewalk and all of us got out. Sakura was the first, because she was the one that was most eager to see the park. I was smiling the entire time.

"Look at it!" Sakura squealed, shoving Tomoyo in the ribs. She nodded and smiled. This park, I remember, was a park that my sisters and I loved when we were little kids. It had two playgrounds, tons of walking trails, a dog run, and all those other stuff you could find at your average park.

Sakura sprinted quickly, past the entrance gates and stopped to wait for us at the beginning of a stone path that was leading in all different directions. Left, right, straight, diagonally in each way, etc. She looked at me with sparkling eyes, and my heart skipped at least a million beats. From far off, I heard my sisters giggle.

"Where should we go first?" She asked, clapping her hands together.

"I'd like to see the playgrounds," Tomoyo replied.

Sakura frowned, "But it's such a nice day. I feel like walking. There are walking trails, aren't there?" My sisters nodded.

"Here's an idea," one of them suggested, "Why dont we take Eriol and Tomoyo to see the playgrounds and the dog run? Xiao-Lang, I thought I remembered you telling me that you wanted to take Sakura here to that, uh, _special_ place?" My eyes narrowed. I never said anything like that!

But all eight of my sisters' eyes were beckoning towards the stone path that was going straight._ Take her there!_ I knew they were trying to tell me. And then I'd remembered where that certainpath lead one to, and I couldn't help but agree with my sisters - taking Sakura there would be a great idea!

And...it might even be a really good idea to ask Sakura out again, since we would be alone, right?

"That seems great," I answered, linking arms with Sakura. Before she could protest, which she didn't might I add, I lead the way down the straight stone path, Sakura just beside me.

She didn't even look at me once the entire time we were walking. Nor did she say a word. All she could do was marvel at all the blooming flowers, and the flawless afternoon sky. Spring in China was always a beautiful sight to see, and so was Sakura's attitude that day. I couldn't help but watch her in adoration.

"Wait," I said, stepping infront of her. Our destination was just literally a minute way, "I need you to close your eyes." She gave me this funny look, and I knew she didn't want to. "Please?" I coaxed, stepping behind her and holding both of her shoulders, "It's a surprise!"

She sighed, "But Syaoran, it better not - "

"It'll be worth it!" I assured her, "I promise,"

I raised my arm and stuck out my pinky. Sakura stared at it for quite a while before giving me a half smile, and linking it with her own. Reluctantly, I let go, and placed my hands over her eyes. I guided her gently down the path, and finally, we reached the place where I'd been so eager to take her.

"Surprise," I whispered into her ear, as I lifted my hands up from her eyes.

She gasped in amazement. Standing before us was a part of the park which was surrounded by cherry blossom trees. They were all placed around it, so that it was a circular kind of area. And in the center of all of it, was the biggest and tallest cherry blossom tree that Sakura could not take her eyes off of.

She walked in a circle around it, letting the tip of her fingers caress the light brown wood. She looked from me to her surroundings, and sighed, "This is so awesome. I love it here, Syaoran!"

I smiled and took her hand. She did not remove it, "I knew you would."

We stood in silence, walking like your average, ordinary couple around the huge cherry blossom tree. Just like before, I was staring at Sakura the entire time. The way she just glowed whenever she was around these type of things got me so hypnotized, it was strange.

"It's too bad I only get to see these during spring time," Sakura said sadly, obviously talking about the cherry blossom trees that surrounded us.

_Yeah,_ I thought, _but it's always spring when you're around._

"So," I began, this time looking at anywhere but into her eyes, "My mother was talking to me about it this morning before you came to breakfast. She was thinking of holding a goodbye party the day before we left for school."

"Oh, that's cool," she said interestedly, "Is it formal?" I nodded. She sighed and I could only laugh at her cuteness.

"So..." I said slowly, "I was thinking that, you know. Maybe you'd want to go with me?" It took her a while before she answered me. "It's alright if you don't want to, because we don't necessarily need anyone to - "

"I'd love to," she replied.

I took a quick pause to process the fact that Sakura said yes to my invitation through my head. "You - you would?" I asked, just incase I wasn't just hearing things.

"Yeah, I think it'd be fun if we went together."

"Great!" I replied, "It's...a date."

I could've sworn I felt Sakura's hand tighten around mine, "I'll be looking forward to it,"

-

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**Worth your time? Read and review, kiddies :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent_ xD


	14. Mission Impossible

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, the only thing I'm close to owning of CCS is my stupid cut-out version of Sakura's staff. Call me sad if you want, I'd say more like a LOVING FAN :). I also don't have anything to do with the movie 'Mission Impossible,' it just seemed like a fitting chapter title. So basically, is any suing necessary? x)

"..." - talking  
_italic font _- thoughts/exaggerated words  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions  
**bold font **- point of view

Now...on with chapter fourteen!

**Mission Impossible**

**Sakura -**

As Syaoran and I walked down the path that lead away from the cherry blossom trees, I thought of the decision I'd made, and what it meant when I'd said yes to his invitation. A date, he had called it, but was it really? The more I thought about it, the more I thought - of course it is! Why else would he ask you if he didn't intend on it being a date?

I kept on repeating it to myself over and over again, just to make myself comfortable with the fact that I had a date with Syaoran Li on Friday night. It was Tuesday. _Three more days until my date with Syaoran Li. Only three more days until my date with Syaoran Li. _Why didn't that sound believable to me?

Oh yes, because of the fact that Syaoran was not only my roommate, but also one of the most looked at piece of eye candy there was at Seiju College! All the time back at the college, every pair of eyes that belonged to a girl was on him. I remembered the evil glares I'd gotten when we got partnered up for the essay.

Which reminded me - what on earth did he write about me? On the plane, he was so secretive. He wouldn't even let me take the tiniest peek at it! So, I had no other choice but to decide to do it the James Bond way! Sneak into his room later, hack into his laptop and find out what on earth it was that he wrote about me.

_Mission: Read Syaoran's Essay is a Go!_

**_xxxxxx_**

We found his sisters, Tomoyo, and Eriol all by the playgound, taking pictures. We immediately let go of the other's hands, but the way all of his sisters smiled evilly at us made me think that they'd somehow seen us, with the pair of eyes that were, as Syaoran told me, supposedly at the back of their heads.

"Hello," they greeted, walking up to us one by one.

"Having fun?" Eriol asked after both he and Tomoyo reached Syaoran and I.

"Yeah," I answered, "It's really beautiful here,"

"I know!" Tomoyo shrieked, clapping her hands together, "I can't wait to get these pictures developed." she indicated to her camera, "Which reminds me," she continued, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the playground. I took Syaoran along with me, not wanting to be alone to endure whatever Tomoyo was about to put me through, "You two were gone so long I don't have any pictures of you!"

"Oh no," I said, trying to shake my hand loose from hers, "It's alright, we really dont - "

"Nonsense," Tomoyo interrupted, forcing both Syaoran and I to pose infront of the playground, where kids were screaming and laughing a top of the giant jungle gym. Eriol and Syaoran's sisters stood behind her, trying hard to hold back laughter. I sighed and smiled, posing with my arms at my sides. Syaoran smiled also, his hands deep inside his pockets.

"Hmmm..." Tomoyo said, looking through the camera lens. She lowered it and stared at the both of us posing, a disapproving look on her face. I coughed and stubbornly told her to get a move on with the stupid picture, "No," she said, still staring, "Something doesn't seem right with this picture,"

I sighed and brought my hands to my hips, "What is it now?"

"Hang on!" She said, running up to us. She took hold of Syaoran's arm that was closest to me and wrapped it neatly around my shoulders. My cheeks flushed lightly.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed, so that only she could hear.

"Making memories," she replied in a mischevious voice.

I gritted my teeth and smiled. Syaoran pulled me closer towards his body and I let him do so. Slowly, so that this time not even his sisters could see, I slid my arm behind his back and once again claimed his hand in my own. He looked at me and smiled.

"Say 'Memories!'" Tomoyo said, the camera once again infront of her face.

"Memories!" We both said in unison, because, afterall, that's what we were making. Memories.

**_xxxxxx_**

As we all made our way back to the car, I pulled back so that Tomoyo, all of Syaoran's sisters and I were behind Syaoran and Eriol. I waited until they were a good distance away before I spoke, "Um, hey, guys? I need your help." All five pairs of their eyes began to twinkle with excitement, "I want to read Syaoran's essay on me."

All of them squealed, "We'd love to help you!" Fanren said.

"Yes, we'd love to!" Sheifa echoed, "Except, it's written on our little brother's laptop, correct?" I nodded, "We're going to have to somehow get his password! He keeps that laptop of his on such an incredible lock down, neither of us have had the success of hacking into it."

"Does that mean we can't do it?" Tomoyo asked sadly.

Feimei gave her a weird look, "Of course it doesn't, silly! It just means we're going to have to work extra hard."

I smiled, knowing that I'd without a doubt be able to read Syaoran's essay by the end of day. Hell, I had the matchmakers helping me out! How could I fail? We all huddled together, brainstorming of some sort of plan that would somehow get me into his laptop, or just the laptop itself.

_Phase 1 of Mission: Read Syaoran's Essay: Obtaining the weapon_.

Cue the Mission Impossible tune.

**_xxxxxx_**

Later that day after we'd visited the mall and bought tons of souvenirs, Tomoyo, Syaoran's sisters and I had already formed a solid plan. Now, the only thing that there was left to do, was to basically...do it! So we got into our "positions," and with the wink of an eye, we began.

"Hey Syaoran," I said, coming into step with him as he walked out of one of the malls.

He smiled, "Hey. Think Touya will like that picture frame you bought for him?"

"Oh yeah, definitely." I answered. My eyes darted to the side, where Fuutie was glancing mischeviously at me. With her eyes, she beckoned for me to continue with what I was doing. "So," I said briskly, placing my hands behind my back, "Have you unpacked all of your things yet? I know I haven't."

"Yep," He answered simply.

"Oh. Even that black suitcase where you keep your laptop?"

"Yep," He said once again.

"You know," I continued, "I still don't understand why you won't let me read your essay. The tiniest paragraph will do, you know?" He chuckled and stopped walking. He turned to face me and gave me that stupid smirk of his that I hated and loved at the same time.

"Is that what this is about?"

"Come on. I can read it if I want, I have the right. And it's not like it'll take a genius to figure out how to open that stupid suitcase of yours to get into your laptop." I was glaring at him on the outside, yet on the inside, I was desperately hoping that he'd somehow fall into the trap that I'd set out before him.

"It might not take a genius, but a key." _Bingo!_ He certainly fell right through into my trap!

"A key?" I questioned. I racked my brain for another clever line to ask. I'd rehearsed this so many times in my head, yet I was screwing up like an idiot, "What kind?" I blurted, only realizing the second after I'd said it how stupid it actually sounded. He raised an eyebrow at me as he continued to walk.

"The type where you stick it into a lock and turn?" He replied.

"Very funny." I answered, hitting him on the arm.

"Listen," he began, sighing, "You can read it as soon as I feel like showing you. Okay?"

"That's not fair!" I countered, stomping my foot like a baby, "What if you never feel like showing me? What if you feel like hiding it from me until the end of time? I don't get it! Why won't you just show me? Any paragraph, a single sentence will do, Syaoran!" He ignored all of my comments.

And then I remembered the keychain he always carried around with him inside his jacket or pants pocket. It was this keychain that had around it his car keys, and four other keys that were strung along beside it. One of them just had to be the one that unlocked his suitcase. It was worth a shot, right?

After arguing with myself for quite a while, I finally made the decision of doing something I'd kind of already done, but not in such a flirty manner. I slowly walked up to him and put on the most flirtatious smile I could muster up. I took hold of his hand and pulled my body gently towards him. He gave me a weird look.

"What are you doing, Sakura?" He asked me. He knew I wasn't the type of girl to do this, but I really wanted to read his essay! I just had to keep on acting like, well, a flirt, because then it'll be worth it after I read his stinking essay.

"Come on, Syaoran," I drawled, slowly slipping my hand down his side. I went on my tip toes and raised my head above his shoulder, and saw the eyes of all the girls that were trying to help me out. They all had on such sparkling eyes that I couldn't help but flush. I bet this is what they all wanted to happen.

I snaked my hand down his jacket pocket and felt no keys. So I switched hands and still felt nothing. "Sakura?" I heard him say again. My cheek was so close to his, I could feel the warmth that it was giving. He could probably feel the warmth off of my cheek also, because he wasn't the only one that was blushing.

I held my breath, making the red on my cheeks spread even more. I closed my eyes tightly before giving Tomoyo a scared kind of look behind Syaoran's back. She snickered, and as she did so, I began to slide my hand down his pants pocket, where I prayed I'd find the stinking keys to his laptop.

I felt the denim and the lint that was in his pocket. My hand grew warmer with every moment, but before it could go down any further, he caught my wrist tightly, and I tried to pull away. He pulled me back towards him roughly, and I could do nothing but stare. The flush in his cheeks were gone, the only thing left was the hard stare in his eyes.

"Leave it alone," he said quietly, yet firmly. I was thankful that everyone was too busy with their shopping to notice what Syaoran and I were doing right in the middle of the mall. His sisters and Tomoyo, however, were watching intently behind his back. "And don't do that again."

I ripped my wrist from his grasp and began to rub it, "Believe me, I didn't want to." You could feel the cold that was dripping from my sentence.

He rolled his eyes and ran his hand through his unruly chocolate brown hair. He growled slightly and continued to stare at me, "Why do you care so much about what I wrote on that stupid essay anyway? You obviously know what I've written! Everything on that stupid essay is about you for heaven's sake!"

"Still!" I replied, half as angry as him, "Why won't you let me if I already know what's going to be on it?"

He did not reply to my question, but only countered back with another of his own, "Maybe I'll show you when you've shown me yours!" His voice was cold and slightly angry. I stared back at him in confusion.

"Fine! I'll show you mine, but it's not like you'll be surprised about anything I wrote,"

"What about the things you added, hm?" He questioned further.

I drew my eyebrows together, "What are you talking about? What did I add?"

"Don't even try lying to me. You added something, they told me so,"

"Who are 'they' Syaoran?" I asked frustrated.

He kept silent and walked away. His sisters and Tomoyo came out from their hiding places and walked towards me in awe. They hadn't seen Syaoran act like that, but I certainly had. Like on the plane, when he was talking about how nervous he was. He had given me that same, hard stare.

Now I was more determined than ever to read it. There was obviously something on it that he added, but I had no idea what he was talking about when he said that I had added something. I wrote so little on his, I had barely even reached my conclusion. Little did I know that later on, I would be adding something, thanks to the mischevious help of his sisters.

"Girls," I said, still staring at his disappearing figure, "It backfired."

"Obviously," Tomoyo stated, also staring in awe.

"There's only one thing left to do," Sheifa stated. And I knew what it was.

_Phase 2 of Mission: Read Syaoran's Essay: Initiate Plan B: The Stalker Method._

**_xxxxxx_**

**Syaoran - **

We took our seats inside the limosine and spent the ride back to the mansion in silence. Neither Sakura or I were speaking to each other, and even though I'd yet to find out that Tomoyo and my sisters were apart of what had happened, they weren't speaking either. Eriol seemed to sense the tension, and also kept silent.

Once we arrived at the mansion, we climbed out and walked straight onto the cobble path and inside. All of us went to climb up the stairs, but my sisters had parted when we had reached the living room floor. Eriol, Tomoyo, Sakura and I all kept on walking until we reached the floor of our bedrooms.

Girls infront, we once again walked in complete silence to our rooms. The only thing we could hear was the slight sound of our footsteps, but they'd all died down once we arrived in our bedrooms. I watched as Sakura entered her own, and Tomoyo follow her. Eriol continued to walk into his and I too went inside my own room.

I sighed and flopped onto my bed. For the second time that day I ran my fingers through my tangly brown hair. I hoped Sakura wasn't too angry with me, I still wanted to take her to the party my mother was hosting on Friday. I still didn't understand why she wanted to read it so much. How could she have possibly known that I'd written something...mushy about her?

Getting up from my bed, I knelt down before my bed and pulled out the black suitcase that contained my laptop. It was still locked, exactly how I'd left it. I was thinking of re-typing the last paragraph of what I'd written about Sakura so that I could just show her, and she wouldn't be so angry with me.

I reached inside my pocket to get hold of the keys that I always carried around with me. I remembered how Sakura's hand felt when she'd slid it down ever so carefully. My cheeks flamed with embarrassment. I too was slightly angry with her. Angry with her for going to such lengths just to read my stinking essay.

Before I could do anything else, I heard a knock on my door. I threw the keys on top of the suitcase and went to answer it.

**_xxxxxx_**

**Sakura -**

Tomoyo, unfortunately, followed me inside my bedroom. I let myself fall freely into my bed with the biggest sigh ever to be heard, as she too sighed and took a seat beside me. As if I was a kitten, she began stroking my back. As my best friend, she could obviously tell when I was not feeling my best.

"That was an interesting sight to see," she said after a while of my moaning.

"Shutup," I said simply. I could just see her smiling, though my face was buried inside my pillow.

"You didn't have to do what you did," she continued, the rubbing of my back halting to a stop. Something about the tone of her voice made me think that what she was about to say wasn't a good thing, "In fact, I think you did it just because you wanted to," I sat bolt up straight, and stared accusingly at her.

"You think I _what?_" I asked.

"Why on earth would you go to such stupid lengths just to read his essay, Sakura?"

"I...I don't know!" I stuttered, "But I certainly didn't just do that for the sake of - "

"Alright, alright." She said, stopping me in mid-sentence with the raising of her hand, "Don't say anything else. As your best friend since the beginning of time, I have no other choice but to believe you." She was smirking, and yet I was glaring daggers at her, which only made her laugh.

"So now what are you going to do?" She asked.

"There's only one thing left for me _to_ do," I answered back.

"Stalker Method," we both said in unison.

I sighed and got up from my bed, Tomoyo's pale hand pulling me upward. We walked to the door, but before opening it, we began the pep talk,"Alright," she began, "I'll create the distraction. You do whatever it takes to get inside his room. But remember, this is the Stalker Method, not the method where you sneak into his stuff and make sure it looks like nothing's happened!"

I nodded impatiently and pushed her out the door, "I know, I know, Tomoyo! After the first distraction, come back in about five minutes, okay? That should probably be long enough for me to see where he keeps his keys, and then when you come back I'll be out A.S.A.P!

"Alright!" she hissed, slowly walking up to Syaoran's door.

I closed my own door just a bit, making sure that there was enough space for me to see what was going on. Tomoyo rapped patiently on the door, and it only took a few seconds before Syaoran answered it.

"Hey," she said, "what's up?"

"Oh, nothing," he replied, a somewhat disappointed look on his face.

"What?" Tomoyo asked, a smirk on her face, "Weren't expecting to see Sakura, were you?"

He gave her a look which indicated that he was thoroughly annoyed, "Something you needed, Tomoyo?" She giggled and nodded her head. She took his hand and brought him towards the stairs. He looked reluctant in leaving, but Tomoyo didn't seem to care, she only continued dragging him.

"Where are you taking me?" He asked impatiently.

"Oh, you never really gave me a complete tour of your mansion! Your sisters tell me that you have two other ball rooms - I mean, living rooms, and I'd sure like to see them."

"Right now, Tomoyo?" I heard him ask.

I waited until they were no longer in sight, and until their voices could only be heard from far, far down the corridor. I poked my head out the door, and saw the shadows of their bodies disappearing behind a corner. I took my chance and tip toed as quietly and as quickly as I could across the corridor to his bedroom.

Entering Syaoran's bedroom, I searched for the best hiding place I could find. I came to realize that the only thing that was even remotely close to hiding my body from his view was underneath his bed, so under it I slid. I waited another minute under his bed until I heard their voices once more.

"Fine, fine, give me the tour later." I heard Tomoyo say. I saw their feet from where I was lying, "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in a minute, though, okay?" She strode out of the room, and closed the door behind her. Syaoran sighed and began making his way around the bed once more.

I turned my eyes every which way but with no avail of seeing anything of worth. The only thing that I was able to see was his feet. But then he climbed onto the bed, which I hoped he wouldn't do. The bed springs groaned and the mattress sinked down lower onto me. Sweat formed on my forehead. I waited anxiously for him to get off for the next three minutes, until he finally did.

And then, what I'd been hoping to hear, the jingling of keys, and the snapping open of the lock, that had to be of his suitcase. I smiled viciously.

As the sight of his feet grew further away from me, I was able to stick my head out a little bit from the foot of the bed where I could get a much better look at what he was doing. Syaoran's back was to me, so he could not see me staring. He was sitting infront of a study table where he placed the laptop.

After hooking a mouse up to it, he opened a document called "Essay." Three guesses on what it must've been about. I watched him scroll down to the very last bit and highlight the very last paragraph. He poised his fingers above the delete button. He never brought it down. And then suddenly, he spoke.

"Should I do this?" He asked. My mouth was open the minute I'd heard it. Syaoran Li, talking to himself? "Maybe I shouldn't..." His fingers were still poised above the delete button. What was it about the last paragraph that made him want to delete it so much?

And exactly on time, Tomoyo's wrapping was heard on the door. He sighed in frustration and exited out of the document. He opened the door and grumbled out a greeting. "Hey, Syaoran. Just got back from the bathroom. Would you mind giving me that tour now?" With bored eyes, he agreed, and followed her out of the room.

Once the sound of their footsteps were no more, I got up from underneath the bed and scrambled over towards the study table. I sat down and quickly opened the document - I only had a limited time left. I opened up the document and tried to speed read as fast as I could. Every paragraph I read was something that was of no importance to me.

So I scrolled right to the very bottom, where I began to read Syaoran's very last paragraph. My eyes softened with every word I read, and my shoulders began to relax.

_All in all, Sakura's not only just my roommate, but also a really great friend. So far over the time I've been living with her, it's been really great. Although sometimes strange things happen for only God knows why, everything seems to be worth it. At first sight, she may seem quite cold, as though she were a person with a hard exterior. But believe me, Professor, when I say that once you get to know her, her interior is just as soft and loving. She's a wonderful person, a beautiful girl, and a caring sister. Anyone who fails to notice that is just as blind as the next person._

I read and re-read the last paragraph over and over again. I almost failed to notice the sound of their foosteps coming back to his room. Quickly, I exited out of the document and made a run for the door. But then, it swung open. I came face to face with Syaoran, Tomoyo with a warning look on her face right beside him.

"Oh...um..." she began, "Thanks for the tour, Syaoran. I better go," And with that, she left the room.

She left Syaoran and I to stare blankly at each other for a good solid minute. He walked straight passed me and closed the door behind him. I turned towards him so that we were once again looking at each other. He was first to break the silence, "What were you doing in here?"

"I..." I tried my hardest to look for an excuse, "I wanted to talk to you."

He stared from me to the computer, "You didn't read it, did you?"

My heart stopped, "What? The essay? No. I...I've come to respect your decision."

"You...what?" He asked.

I sighed and took a seat beside him on his bed, "I'm sorry for what I did today. I didn't mean to act like such a flirt. If you don't want me to read your essay, I mean, that's fine. I get it. I shouldn't have been so eager to see it in the first place, cause, like you said, I already know what's going to be on it."

At least I thought I did.

He too sighed, "Listen, Sakura, I didn't mean to get so angry with you today. It's just that you were starting to remind me of Mai," I smiled, "I guess you're right, though. You have the right to read it. So...go ahead. My laptop is all yours."

I smiled and shook my head, "No, really. It's fine." I got up and began to make my way to the door.

"You know," Syaoran continued, "I'm glad we sorted all this essay stuff out. I was hoping you weren't too mad at me, because I still really want to take you to the party this Friday."

"I was hoping you'd say that," I replied.

"So then...you're still my date?" He asked.

"Most definitely," I answered in turn, and closed the door behind me. I walked to my bedroom where I was glad I did not find Tomoyo. Once again, I flopped down onto the mattress so that my face was completely buried into my silver sheets. Had I really just read what I thought I just read? I must have!

Wow, I guess Syaoran really does like me.

_Phase 3 of Mission: Read Syaoran's Essay: Try to forget everything you've just read._

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**And so the plot thickens! Read and review please!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	15. The Will of the Cards

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: Hey, hey. Know what rhymes with "Hey, hey"? NEIGH, NEIGH! Neigh, or however you wanna spell it, is another language (I have no idea about) for NO, NO. NO, NO, I do not own CCS or any of its characters! Hehe :)

"..." - talking  
_italic font _- thoughts/exaggerated words  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions  
**bold font -** point of view

Now...on with chapter fifteen!

**The Will of the Cards**

**Syaoran -**

I was definitely glad that Sakura and I cleared the air between us, because I really did still want to take her as my date to the party my mother was holding. But I was still really confused as to why she wanted to read my essay on her so much. Something in my brain told me that my sisters had something - or everything to do with it.

The very next day I was really happy. I sat down at the breakfast table across from Eriol and Tomoyo who had already begun on their waffles. I smiled at them as my greeting, because I was too busy thinking to speak. Two more days until my date with Sakura, I thought. Only two more days!

"What's with you?" Eriol asked me as he dug into his waffles.

"Oh, nothing" I answered, knowing Eriol would only question me further. I was already ready to tell him and Tomoyo about my date with Sakura two days from now. Even though I knew he'd be teasing me about it, a lot like my sisters except in a guy way, I wanted to brag about it as much as possible.

"Come on," Tomoyo egged on, now seeming fully determined to know why I was acting funny, "You can tell us, you know you can."

"Well..." I began. I froze. Maybe I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was. Maybe telling them would be a bad idea afterall?

Within my slight pause both Tomoyo and Eriol were looking at me intently. My sisters didn't seem to notice we were talking at all, they were too busy talking with themselves. I shrugged my shyness off. If my sisters weren't listening, than I was safe, but just incase, I lowered my voice down to a tone that wouldn't gather any further attention.

"You know that party my mom is holding for us the day before we leave for college?" They nodded attentively, "Well, I was thinking of asking Sakura to be my date, and - "

Tomoyo choked on her food. Both me and Eriol turned to look at her. No, she didn't choke because she was surprised, but she choked because she was...laughing? She covered her mouth with her hand and continued to giggle, hard enough for my sisters to turn around and stare at her with confused eyes.

"Something the matter?" Feimei asked. Tomoyo shook her head and croaked out a reply saying that she was fine. All four of them shrugged it off and continued on with their conversation.

"Goodluck with that," Tomoyo said, after she'd got all the giggles out of her system. She took the cup of syrup and poured it onto her plate of waffles as though she didn't even notice Eriol and I eyeing her with great confusion. She put it down and looked at us, "What?" She asked.

"Is there any reason Sakura would reject me?" I ventured.

She shrugged, "Well...I don't know. I didn't mean to sound rude when I said that last sentence, really. Sakura's just not the type to have dates for certain things. I know she came with you to that party Mai was holding..." she shuddered, remembering what had happened, "but she certainly didn't consider that a date."

"I still don't see why Sakura would reject him," Eriol commented.

"Well, ask if you like." Tomoyo stated simply, digging into her waffles once more, "But just so you know, the last time she ever had anyone take her as a date to any place was with Miko in the sixth grade."

We all grew silent to eat our food. But I didn't. I only smiled down at my plate, my proud face reflected back to me in the gooey syrup. "That's odd," I said, catching both Eriol and Tomoyo's attention once more.

"What is?" Eriol asked, looking up from his plate.

"I asked her already,"

Tomoyo's head snapped up, "And?" She said expectantly.

"She said yes."

At that precise moment, Sakura entered the room, a sleepy look in her eyes. "Hi everybody," she greeted. She took a seat beside me, not aware that all three of us were staring blankly at her. She took her share of the waffles and started pouring the syrup. Tomoyo looked like she was about to scream.

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting for me," Sakura said, still concentrating on her plate, "But you guys know me. I always have a sleepy start in the morn - " It seemed like Tomoyo couldn't hold it in any longer.

She screamed loud and long so that she basically deafened us all. I could've sworn one of our glasses would've broken if she'd screamed any longer. When she'd finally stopped, my mother immediately came in, her heels tapping lightly against the marble floor, "What in heaven's name is going - "

"Sakura Kinomoto!" Tomoyo shrieked, getting up from her seat, "I thought we were best friends!"

Sakura, the sleepy look no longer in her eyes, answered, "W - w - we are! What is the matt - ?"

"If we were best friends," Tomoyo continued, a slow smile spreading to her face, "why didn't you tell me you said yes to be Syaoran's date to the party on Friday, the exact second after he asked you?"

My eyes snapped back and forth to every face in the room. Wei, with a pitcher of orange juice in his arms was smiling brightly. Eriol looked like he was about to laugh. And mother, dear, old, mother was standing at the entrance of the room, arms folded and smiling smugly at me. _Well done, son,_ I knew she was trying to say.

And then my sisters. "Oh," they began. I began to get up from my seat, "my," I got up so quickly my chair fell backwards, "goodness!" They finally screeched. I was too slow. Two of my sisters came rushing up to me, shaking my shoulders, pinching my cheeks, and asking me questions. The last two of my sisters and Tomoyo were the ones covering Sakura, doing the exact same thing.

"Well," my mother began, still smiling smugly and ignoring my sisters, "What a splendid start to a splendid morning, hmm?"

**_xxxxxx_**

"Oh, I can't believe it!" Sheifa screamed for the millionth time. She, Fenren, Wei, Eriol, and mother were all seated around me in the dining hall, talking nonstop about my date with Sakura. I listened with great reluctance as they went on and on about party preperations, how it would be a magical night, and that Sakura would look beautiful in whatever Tomoyo was going to make her wear.

"You sly dog," Eriol said. I rolled my eyes at him.

"What makes me a sly dog?" I asked in monotone, not even looking at him. I didn't even know why I even bothered making conversation with any of them. They always found some way or another to tease me about Sakura. I just had to tell them, didn't I? Well, it was bound to come out sooner or later when they saw me with her.

"You asked her and you didn't tell us?" He asked.

"Yeah, because we're not talking about it right now, are we?" I asked sarcastically, "I'm just imagining things. Oh my God, I wish I was just imagining things. Eriol, shutup!" I begged, "Make them shutup, too!"

"Sorry, cousin," he replied, that stupid smile still on his face and patting my back, "but there's nothing I can do. Nothing you can do either. They've officially made the fact that you and Sakura going to the party together part of their business." He continued to pat my back as I groaned in misery.

"When clearly," I said, looking up at all of them, "it's not!"

"Oh, stop it, son." My mother stated. Her voice sounded angry, but she was still wearing that smug smile she put on ever since the news came out, "I'm very glad you asked her. Now, I'll be planning this event better than ever." My head snapped up at her words and I began to eye her cautiously.

"Event? It's just a party, mother. It's just a party with me, you, the girls, Eriol, and Wei, right? Right, mom? Right?" The way she was smiling brightly at me made me panic, "Mom...mom! That's all it's going to be, right? Just a formal, _small_ get together with all ten of us, right? Right? Mom, stop giving me that look!"

"Sorry to disappoint you, my son. But I'm afraid I will be inviting more guests."

"What? What do you mean? How much more?" My head swivelled from side to side, trying to gather any support from my sisters, Eriol, or Wei. All of them were smiling. I stood up abruptly for the second time that day and gave them accusing looks. They were all conspiring against me!

"But why?" I asked.

"It seemed like a good opprotunity to get all of our family and friends together," Mother answered.

"Mom - " I began. She cut me off with the raising of her hand, signalling for me to be silenced. I instantly did so. I pouted angrily at her and everyone around me. My date with Sakura would be just fine without them interfering! I didn't need any of their help! Why didn't anybody understand that?

I sighed and began to make my way to my room. I hoped to God that Sakura was having better luck than me.

**_xxxxxx_**

**Sakura -**

"Awwww, no!" I shrieked into my pillow, as Tomoyo, Fuutie and Feimei continued to giggle and gossip about my date with Syaoran. I covered my ears, because their high pitched squeaking was like nails on a chalkboard for me. They would only laugh and continue everytime I did that, though clearly, I was in physical pain.

"It's going to be so awesome Friday night!" Fuutie said, plopping onto my bed with big yellow stars in her eyes, "Mother will make it spectacular! We'll be using the ballroom, and she's already begun the decorating! There'll be food and tables enough for at least a hundred people, which is certainly - "

"A lot more than we need," Tomoyo interrupted, "Isn't it just going to be the eleven of us? The four of you, me, Sakura, Meiling, Eriol, Syaoran, Wei, and your Mother?" My ears perked from my low lying position on my bed. When she didn't answer, I sat up and fixed a hard glare at her. Both she and Feimei were grinning evilly at each other. Tomoyo's eyes glimmered.

"That'll be it, right?" I said again, "That's all it will be right? Just the eleven of us. Please, please tell me your mother didn't invite anyone else? Please, you guys!" They all just laughed and patted at my back. I groaned inwardly and stuffed my head back into my pillow. How did they find that funny?

"We're sorry," Feimei said, "but our mother called it a 'good opprotunity to get all our family and friends together,' "

Tomoyo was clapping her hands together like a seal, "This is great! I know the exact dress I'm going to make you wear, Sakura! It's already in my mind! I just need a little bit more of that silky fabric - "

"Impossible," I stated, with a little bit of hope in my voice, "You can't make me a dress to wear for the party in just two days. Even your hands can't work that fast, Tomoyo!" She gave me a look which told me I was clearly incompetent and continued to pat my back consolingly. It wasn't helping.

"You understimate me, supposed best friend of mine." She said.

I watched as all three of them hopped happily out of my bedroom, clapping their hands together like there was no tomorrow. I held back a frustrated scream and shut my door closed. I couldn't help but feel angry. Why were they making such a big deal out of my date with Syaoran? And to make things worse, my hand began to flicker.

"No, no!" I said, "Please, not now! Not again!"

Then you wouldn't believe, with just my luck, someone opened the door and Syaoran popped his chocolate brown haired head in. Stupid Syaoran. I quickly shoved my hand underneath my pillow. I could keep a straight face while a body part was flickering. God only knows I've done it with Syaoran many times before.

"Were you talking to somebody?" He asked, stepping inside my room and shutting the door.

"God, doesn't anybody knock?" I replied gruffly.

"Sorry," he answered back, taking a seat beside me on my bed, "What's with you?"

"Oh, sorry," I began sarcastically, "the fact that everyone's making such a huge deal out of our date has nothing to do with my mood, and that your mother has made the party into some social event of the year, and that Tomoyo is now going insane with dress ideas for me, and I'm still 532 words short of finishing that stupid english assignment - "

"Alright, alright, I get it," he interrupted, bringing his hand up to my back and rubbing it. I closed my eyes and sighed. I don't know why, but unlike Tomoyo, Fuutie, and Feimei's method of consoling me, Syaoran's worked miracles. I took another deep breath, and within seconds, my hand stopped flickering. I took it out from underneath its hiding place.

"Sorry," I said again, "I'm not angry with your mom or anything. I just wish she told us that it was going to be a...bigger party than we thought."

"Yeah, so do I," he replied.

Suddenly, he placed his hands on both my shoulders, which gave me a start. My head snapped up, forcing my eyes to make beautiful contact with his amber orbs. I wanted to close my eyes, really, I did. I wanted to shut them and shake his hands off of me so that I wouldn't be staring like an idiot into those stupid, stupid eyes of his.

What was I feeling? Not a single word in the earth could describe it.

"You're not regretting this, are you?" He asked, his voice flowing gently into my brain, sounding like a symphony of undescribeable feelings in my ears. It took me a while to answer, which was why he shook me slightly. I blinked a record number of a million times before I answered with a lame sounding, "Hmm?"

"Do you feel like you wish you never said yes to me in the first place?" He said, this time in words that I could understand. Not that his words weren't unclear the first time, it's just that the first time my brain was currently out of order.

"No, of course not," I reassured him, "Besides, it's just a date. Knowing your family and Tomoyo, this is just how they regularily act. I'm surprised we weren't prepared for it. Gosh, imagine what it would be like if your cousin Meiling found out?" We both chuckled, and to our sudden surprise, someone, or rather some _people_, began to chuckle outside my door, too.

Syaoran trailed along behind me as we quickly and quietly made our way to the door. I placed my hand on the knob and pulled the door open so fast, Tomoyo and all four of Syaoran's sisters didn't have the time to run down the hallway. We glared harshly at them as they giggled nervously.

"Guys," Syaoran said firmly, "enough. Seriously."

As Tomoyo just continued to smile, Syaoran's sisters huffed angrily. "We're not doing anything wrong," they all said. We gave them sarcastic looks, "Well you just wait!" They said warningly, making their way down the hall with Tomoyo, "The minute Meiling finds out, she'll go crazier than us."

We stared blankly at them as they continued to walk further way from us, "You don't think she'll really be as bad as them, do you? I mean...I was only joking the first time I mentioned her." I stared at Syaoran for an answer. He actually looked quite scared.

"She used to be my fiance, Sakura. It's obvious that first night you guys met that she already likes you. But the minute she hears about our date, she'll be trying just as hard as everybody else to get us together." I couldn't help but let this helpless look make its way onto my worried face.

"Oh man..." I said hopelessly.

I sensed some fidgeting beside me. I turned my head and gave Syaoran an awkward look. He smiled back at me nervously, but moved his gaze towards the ground. I cocked my head to the side, as I continued to stare at him oddly. He walked away without a word into his room, but just before he turned his back on me, I thought I must've seen a hint of pink on his cheeks.

**_xxxxxx_**

**Syaoran -**

What is wrong with me? I try so hard to make myself admit it to her, because I know that she never will. Maybe if I speak first about our romantic feelings for one another, we can finally be...what? Together? Was I expecting too much from her? Was that what she wanted, too? Would she ever admit it?

_Let's just do them all a favour,_ I wanted so badly to say, _and be together!_

There were just too many questions swimming around in my head, I needed air. With the speed of a sloth, I got up from my bed and walked over to my door. I was just simply planning to go to the nearest balcony to try and clear my head, but when I opened my door, the first thing that I saw was Sakura, about to turn the corner of the hallway.

I made sure to shut my door quietly, and speed walk to catch up with her. I couldn't risk running in my mansion because I didn't want my footsteps to echo through the hallway, because then Sakura would realize that I was following her. And I just didn't feel like dealing with her presence when she knew I was there, because she would always just talk to me like everything was normal between us, when really, things weren't.

Sakura, of course, being the Cardmistress, can sense anybody's presence. Every few seconds, she'd turn swiftly around, to see if anyone was following her, and of course, I was. But I'm just as good as her when it comes to sensing movement. I could always tell when she was just about to turn around, so I always had the time to duck behind the nearest oddly shaped statue my mother always bought for pointless reasons.

I was like a snake, slithering my way behind her. As she turned every corner and as we passed by every door, I automatically knew where our destination was. I didn't know why, but we were heading to the gardens. I didn't bother questioning it any further, though. Afterall, I wanted fresh air, didn't I?

She pushed the double glass doors open, and we were greeted with a cool rush of air. The wind blew gently towards us, granting us the sweet opprotunity of taking in the scent of freshly cut grass and exotic flowers and plants. Before she took her first step out onto the terrace, she turned around one last time. I was so busy watching her hair move through the wind that I'd almost lost my chance of ducking, but luckily, I didn't.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders, and made her way off the terrace. I waited until she was a good distance away from me before I continued to stalk - I mean, follow her. I crept up slowly from behind my hiding place and ran quietly across the terrace, jumping off the last step and landing quietly in the shade of a large oak tree.

Hiding behind every rock, tree, and bush, I finally made it to the centre of the garden where Sakura stood. We had to stop every few seconds, however. I felt my cheeks grow hot, everytime she bent down to brush her fingers against the soft petals of a flower I didn't know the name of, giggling as she did so. Sometimes, she even did a few twirls, allowing her hair to fly in every direction.

She truly was a beautiful sight to see.

I leaned quietly behind yet another tree, watching her closely. From her pocket she plucked a single pink card, which was no doubtedly a Sakura Card. She placed it gently against her chest, as if hugging it. "Hmmm..." I heard her say softly, "Kero told me to use the cards more often..." My jaw dropped. I guess I wasn't the only person in the mansion to speak to themselves.

From beneath her formed a golden magic circle with a star in the centre. A gust of wind grew, and it was hard for me to keep quiet. When it had died down, Sakura began to speak once more. "Flower Card..." she whispered, as she stared at the big tree before her. It was a simple green tree, that was in full colour.

"Remove those leaves from the tree, and replace them with sakura petals," she threw the card into the air and brought her staff upwards so that it was pointing to the card which was floating.

From the card rose a beautiful young lady with curly coned hair. Her entire dress was pink, and even her skin seemed to glow pink. She smiled and giggled at Sakura, who I knew was smiling back. She took flight and began to circle the tree. Within seconds, the once green tree was blooming with sakura petals.

The young lady returned to a card, but before doing so, showered Sakura all over with the lovely pink petals that she was so fond of. A mix of another flower was in there also, and I'm pretty sure that they were... peony flowers? My favourite flower? What were they doing in there?

Suddenly, though not spoken by the Flower Card, words began to sound through both my ears and Sakura's ears. As she faded into a pink mist, back into the card, the words, "_Please...we want you to forgive us..._" echoed through the entire garden. My eyebrows furrowed together as I wondered why the Sakura Cards wanted forgiveness from her.

Sakura sighed and turned around. I was no longer hiding, but luckily, she didn't see me. Her eyes were closed, and her cheeks were flushed. It was probably because of the energy she used, afterall, using a Sakura Card took quite a bit of strength. So Before I got caught, I sprinted back into the mansion as fast as possible, while her eyes were still closed. I know that they remained closed, because not once did Sakura call after me.

Just before I closed the glass double doors, I thought I heard a wimper.

But I ignored it.

When I finally made it back into my room, I flopped loosely onto my bed. I wanted to scream. Was I this nervous to tell her? Did I really not have any courage at all to say how I felt about her? I decided from that moment on that I would tell her, no matter what. No matter how long it took, just as long as I told her that I...like her. I like her. Not possibly..._not possibly_...love.

I took a large breath like a man about to face a dragon. My thoughts loomed back to when Sakura told me about her favourite movie, '_Sleeping Beauty_.' That's right, I wouldn't back down on my mission. Besides, the Prince never gave up without a fight, did he?

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**Hope you enjoyed. Review if you love me :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	16. Difficulty of Realization

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: I claim I do not own CCS or any of its characters. So there, potential suers :).

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts/exaggerated words  
**bold font -** point of view  
(A/N: ...) - my interruptions

Now...on with chapter sixteen!

**Difficulty of Realization**

**Sakura - **

"_Please...we want you to forgive us..._" What did they say? They wanted my forgiveness? I closed my eyes before turning around. It hurt too much to keep them open, because the tears that were about to fall felt like making me suffer too, I guess. _My beloved cards_, I thought, as the tears rolled freely down my pink face, _how could you think that it was your fault?  
_  
It was mine.

I brought a hand up to my face to dry the tears that I did not want to cry. At first I thought that I was incredibly lucky that neither of my hands were flickering. But when I tried to brush the back of my hand against my cheeks, I felt nothing. I gasped in shock. I brought it back and touched it again. That was the first time my face ever flickered.

My head felt very faint. With whatever strength I had left in me, I walked slowly back into the mansion and back up to my room. There was the occasional servant that walked passed me, asking whether or not I was okay. I nodded simply, and continued to make my way like a zombie to my room.

I pulled off my clothes and slipped on a pair of sweats and a baggy shirt. I pulled my curtains together, preventing the sunlight from leaking into my room. I pulled the covers over my head and slept with an exhausted mind and body.

**_xxxxxx_**

The next day, after getting up from bed and working a bit on my essay, I made the decision to not think about what the cards wanted. I stared hard at myself in the mirror before me, repeating the same thing over and over again, "Keep focus on the things that are happening in the present, not the past!" Present, not the past...

I heard a knock on the bathroom door, "In a minute!" I replied, wiping off the weird green stuff Tomoyo gave me to put on my face. I quickly splashed water over my pale cheeks and took hold of my towel. I opened the door to a nearly naked Syaoran with only a pair of grey sweat pants on.

"O - Oh..." I said breathlessly. I couldn't restrain myself from looking him up and down. He raised an eyebrow, not forgetting to plaster on his infamous smirk. I blushed lightly and shoved him to the side, "Geez, Syaoran. It's not nice to look at people like that." I brushed past him quickly making sure not to look back.

"I could say the same thing to you," I heard him say before shutting the bathroom door closed.

I rolled my eyes, though I knew he could not see. As I walked down the hall leading me back to my bedroom, the image of a shirtless Syaoran couldn't seem to get out of my mind. Even though I'd just washed my face, my cheeks were starting to grow oddly warm. I growled at my stupidness and closed the door of my bedroom louder than I'd meant to.

"What's your problem?" I heard someone say. I turned my head to look at a drawer which had opened by itself. Kero fluttered out of it and flew to lay on my shoulder. I brushed him off and placed him on the bed, "Someone seems a little cranky." He said simply.

"I have to eat breakfast. How are you doing stuffed in here all the time?"

Kero smiled a toothy grin and held up a bag of sweets to showcase, "With all the junkfood you left me, I'm doing just fine." I rolled my eyes for the second time that day and left Kero by himself to pig out on the unhealthy things that I gave to him. At least he wasn't being a bother though, right?

Before leaving the room I threw on a blue t-shirt and slipped on a pair of jeans. Only taking a fraction of a second to glance at myself in the mirror, I stepped out of my room and began to walk down the now familiar hallway which lead into the dining hall. I was met with Eriol, who came into even steps with me.

"How's it going?" He asked.

"Fine, just fine." I answered, not bothering to ask back. Eriol was always smiling anyway. Even if the sky started to fall, he'd still be smiling like the weird, yet cool guy that he is. My thoughts made me look over to him. Something about his smile was different today. It wasn't the normal freaky kind. It was stranger than usual.

"Something the matter?" He asked, catching me staring.

I eyed him cautiously, "I don't know. You tell me,"

He shrugged, "I don't understand."

"I'm sure you don't," I said. I took a couple of steps which positioned me so that I was infront of him, keeping him from going anywhere else. When he tried side stepping, I followed suit, continuing to block his way. Even though I was acting totally out of it, he was still smiling. See, what did I tell you?

"You'll find out soon," he said simply, leaving me with questioning thoughts. The next time he tried side stepping, I let him go so I could ponder upon what he'd just said. "You'll find out soon," hmm? What on earth was that supposed to mean? I shrugged, figuring that I was probably just over reacting.

I turned the handle and pushed on the large oak doors which seperated me from the dining hall. They creaked open, and I was greeted with the usual sight of Eriol, who made it there before me, sitting beside Tomoyo, Wei pouring orange juice into every empty glass, and...Meiling Li gossiping with Syaoran's sisters?

The moment I stepped through the doors her eyes snapped into my direction. She smiled largely and sprinted up to me. I took a step backward, a little freaked out about what she was currently doing. She took both of my hands in hers and started to speak, "I can't believe you're actually dating Xiao-Lang!" She screeched, stars in her eyes.

"I - I..." I stammered, "N - N - Not technichally...I'm just - just - "

She flicked her free hand as if to dismiss the comment I'd almost made, "Don't bother keeping it a secret any longer. We're all happy for you, really!" I continued to stare back into her firey red eyes which blazed with the excitement and shone with stars. Her smile was bigger than ever, and so were Syaoran's sisters.

"N - N - No..." I continued, "I - I think you've got it all wr - wrong. You see, we're not actually dating, Syaoran - I mean, Xiao-Lang - whatever, he's just my date to the party - I mean, event - er..." I looked over to Tomoyo for support. She too was smiling, except in amusement. I glared hard at Eriol. So Meiling's arrival was what he was keeping from me!

Meiling's grip on my hands loosened, but she did not let go. Her eyes were no longer sparkling, and they weren't as big as they were just two seconds earlier, "What...?" She asked, as if broken hearted.

I laughed nervously, "Y - You see, Meiling, I'm really...er..._glad_, that you and everyone else are so eager to know that Syaoran and I are apparently dating, but we're not. You see, I just agreed to be his date to the thing that his mother is holding tomorrow night." The entire room seemed to be watching for some reason.

I paused to take in her reaction. When she gave none, I continued, "I don't know what the _others_ have been telling you," I said, taking another slight pause to glare at each and every one of them, "but we're certainly not dating." I blinked a few times when she still gave no reaction or reply. I was thinking that maybe she didn't hear me.

"What a shame..." she finally said, letting go of my hands and sagging back to her seat, "I finally thought that Syaoran had gotten himself a girlfriend. That's too bad," I sighed in relief, and started to walk over to my seat infront of Tomoyo. "I guess it's up to us then, isn't it?" I heard her say.

My head flicked into their direction, "Hey, hey!" I said warningly, "I don't know what you guys are up to, but it better not be some weird plan on how to get Syaoran and I - "

"Morning everybody," Syaoran greeted, stopping me half way into my sentence. I growled, slightly irritated with being incapable of finishing most of my sentences that morning, either because I was stuttering or interrupted. Syaoran smiled at me, and I suddenly stopped, my eyes gravitating towards my plate.

I heard six high pitched giggles. The Romantics, the cousin, and the so-called best friend were all conspiring against me.

"Anything interesting we'll be doing today?" I asked, trying to distract myself from the giggles, "I only have about one hundred soemthing words left for my essay, and that can wait. I already have a conclusion in my head so I can do whatever I want today!"

Tomoyo was first to answer, "You guys go without me. I'll be finishing Sakura's dress for the party tomorrow. I'm only two quarters finished. It'll probably take me the entire day." She finished off her breakfast and stood up, "In fact, I should get started right now!" She kissed Eriol on the cheek, "Just yell if you need me!" And with that she was on her way.

Four shrieks of complain came from the other side of the table. Eriol, Syaoran, Meiling and I all turned to look at the Romantics. "What is it?" We all asked.

"That reminds us," one began, a pout plastered onto her face just like the other three, "we all have fitting appointments today with the seamstress!" They all wailed sadly, "Oh shoot, that starts in about twenty minutes, and it takes at least fifteen to get there. We should be going." Hurriedly, they shoved what was left of their breakfast down their throats and off they went.

And then there were four. "Well, I guess it'll only be the four of us that you'll be taking sight seeing today, Wei." I said simply.

"Just let me get my coat and then we can take - " Eriol stood up, and suddenly fell down. Syaoran, Meiling, Wei and I all gasped and went to see if he was alright. I didn't know about everybody else because they knew him longer than me, but that was the first time I'd ever seen Eriol Hiirigazawa do something clumsy!

"Are you alright?" Wei asked.

Eriol smiled sheepishly (see, what did I tell you? A smiling freak!) and scratched the top of his navy blue head in embarrassment. "Yeah, I'm fine." Before getting up, he rolled over onto all fours and started feeling around for his glasses. When he reached them, he made a clicking noise with his tongue, "Oh man. This just won't do."

"Your glasses broke. Nice one," Syaoran said with a smirk. I nailed him in the rib harshly, making sure to tell him that his comment wasn't very nice. He shrugged whilst rubbing painfully at his side.

"That sucks, Eriol." The only time I'd ever seen Eriol without his glasses on were when he went so sleep. He rubbed at his eyes and tried to hold a piece of what used to be part of the frame of his glasses up to eye level. He squinted furiously. "You can't see a thing, can you?" I asked.

"It'll be fine!" He said cheerfully. He got up with the shattered pieces of his glasses in both his hands, and turned around, walking face first into the wall. Although I felt a tiny bit guilty, I couldn't help but restrain a giggle. Syaoran however didn't even bother, and laughed his big head off.

"Oh my," Meiling spoke, bringing an arm around his shoulders, "you should get that fixed quickly."

Eriol nodded, "I should."

"Here," she offered, guiding his way through the door so that Wei, Syaoran and I were all left to watch them leave, "I'll take you to the nearest place where we can get that fixed. But, the only one I know is at least twenty one blocks away..." Wei made a suggestion that he take Eriol himself, but Meiling graciously turned him down, "Really, Wei, you've done so much for us already. I'll take him myself."

From beside me, Syaoran cleared his throat loudly. Meiling and Eriol stopped and turned around. His eyes were closed, arms folded, back straight. "Guys, this isn't even close to funny." Meiling and I stared blankly at him, and I knew that if Eriol could see where he was standing, he would be too.

"I don't get what you're saying," Meiling replied.

"I'm sure you don't," Syaoran said sarcastically, his eyes opening into a glare, "you mean to tell me that my sisters just so happened to have an appointment with the seamstress, today of all times? And Eriol breaking his glasses? That's like, in the top ten for the Things Most Unlikely to Happen list!"

With one arm still around Eriol's waist, Meiling held her hands up in defence, "Hey, I didn't even think about that. I'm serious, Xiao-Lang. Neither of us planned this. I swear on my life."

He looked at her unbelievingly. I punched him lightly on the arm, "Stop thinking so hard on it. If she says it's just coincidence, than I believe her." She nodded at me gratefully. "Now if you don't mind, Syaoran, I don't want to spend my entire day stuck inside here. So if we're going to go, let's go now, please?" It took him a while to agree.

"I'll be sure to tell Tomoyo too, so she doesn't get all freaked if she doesn't see him," I suggested, as we walked by Meiling and Eriol, who were waiting patiently for us to pass, "And we don't want you blind for the party tomorrow, Eriol," I added, "so take your time, alright?" He nodded cheerfully.

I bounded down the hall to get to my room. I made a quick pit stop though, to tell Tomoyo about what had just happened. When I told her, she was very worried and stood up to see how he was doing. I assured her it was fine, he only broke his glasses, and that he wouldn't want to keep her from finishing my dress. She nodded sadly and continued to work.

"Tell him I love him," she called before I ran to my room to grab my coat.

"Honestly, Tomoyo," I said, "He just fell from his seat, not from a cliff, okay?"

She scowled at me in the way that best friends do to show humor, sarcasm, and anger at the same time. I waved at her in goodbye and went to meet Syaoran at the foot of the stairs, where he was all set and ready to go with an annoyed face on. I looked at him questioningly.

"My stupid cousins left already," he said, irritated. I nodded, confused with his sudden annoyance.

"Alright," I said, shrugging my coat on and pulling him along, "Let's go then."

**_xxxxxx_**

**Syaoran - **

I waited patiently for Sakura at the foot of the stairs, my arms folded and still suspicious. It might have seemed that I was convinced that this all wasn't planned on the outside, but on the inside, I was squirming with questions which could be useful in any future interrogation that I was planning.

Meiling and Eriol were already there with me before Sakura, and almost out the door. They both paused beside me, and I knew if Eriol knew where I was standing, he'd be looking at me with that same smirk Meiling had on her face. I scowled at her, to let her know that I still didn't believe her.

"Oh, calm down, Xiao-Lang," she said, a twinkle appearing in the corner of her fierce ruby red eyes, "As much as you don't believe it, none of us planned this, alright? But since you mentioned it..." she let one arm loose from Eriol's waist and nudged me in the rib, "Have fun with her, and don't disappoint us, okay?"

"Yeah, what she said," Eriol replied, squinting up at me.

I rolled my eyes at the both of them and hurriedly pushed them down the stairs, "Get a move on, you two. Before I blow my top off with your stupid suggestions." Even though I was surprised, I was still annoyed. Could they know that I was planning on telling Sakura about how I felt? Stupid family members.

After five minutes of waiting, Sakura finally made it down the stairs. After explaining to her that the two had already left, she pulled me along down the rest of the steps and out the door, where we met with Wei who was standing tall and sturdy beside the black limosine.

I motioned for him to get inside the driver's seat already. He nodded, knowing that I wanted to show off my chivarly to Sakura. I smiled gratefully at him, and opened the door for her. She too smiled and got inside to sit on the comfy leather seats. I followed after her, and then we were on our way.

"Anywhere you'd like to go?" Wei asked, the black screen seperating us rolling down.

I looked to Sakura, who was thinking with an adorable face on. I looked downward, trying to hide the sudden spreading of pink across my cheeks, "Um," she said, still in deep thought, "I don't really know. Any suggestions, Syaoran?"

I did not lift my head, for fear of showing her my tomato looking face, "Um, Wei, how about you take us to the..." I finally looked up, only to meet with her beautiful emerald eyes. I was staring so deeply that I even saw my reflection in them, and I must say how much of an idiot I looked, just staring at her like that.

"Yes?" Wei asked patiently.

"My place," I said suddenly. Yes, my special place! Why hadn't I thought of that before?

Wei nodded and rolled the black screen up once more, so that we could no longer see his face. I mentally made a reminder to myself to thank him for giving us the privacy I wanted. I turned to Sakura, who was staring at me again. Thank God I didn't blush this time. It seemed like everything she did made me turn pink.

"Your place?" She asked, "What do you mean?"

"You'll see," was my only reply, as she continued to stare with curiousity.

"Um...okay," she answered, turning her head to look out the window.

Oh no! I was losing her attention. Keep focused, I tried to tell myself. Keep focused, and concentrate on the task at hand. I had to get her feeling in the mood before I told her I liked her. If she wasn't, it would seem abrupt, and things would be awkward. So I tried to make a little small talk.

"So you said you only had about one hundred words left on your essay, eh?" It seemed like a weak attempt, but I wanted to try and avoid the silence.

"Yeah," Sakura said, a hint of happiness in her voice. I knew why she was kind of happy because no one in our class liked the essay we had to write over our precious Spring Break, "not exactly one hundred," she corrected, "but something close to that. I'll be done with it soon, so you can read it after."

And that reminded me, my sisters told me to read it. They said she added some things, but what could they have been? Sakura told me herself that she didn't add anything, and she wasn't trying to hide it from me like I tried to do. I forced myself not to think about it at the moment - I'd read it some other time.

"Oh, that's cool." I replied.

"Oh, have you booked our flight to leave the day after tomorrow?" She asked, knowing me all too well.

"Yep," I answered.

She sighed a little sadly, but more in exhaustion, "It's going to suck leaving. I don't want to go. Even though I've only spent a few days here, I really like it." She pouted like the adorable person that she is, but she brightened up with a tiny smile, "Oh well, at least we have the party to look forward to,"

Before I could keep it from being so obvious, a large, large smile spread across my face. That's right, the party was tomorrow. Or in other words, _my almighty date with Sakura Kinomoto, the girl I'm in love with, is in less than twenty four - _WHAT?

I didn't say 'in love,' did I? I couldn't have. I never said in love, because I'm not in love with her, right? _Right_? I wanted so badly to smack myself in the head that my hands tingled. Who exactly was I trying to convince?

"Syaoran?" I heard her voice as though it were from a great distance, "Syaoran, are you still with me?"

With you? Oh God, you have no idea how much I wish I was.

"Er...yeah," I said stupidly, not having enough courage to look her in the face.

"Are you sure?" She asked, "You've been looking down a lot. You're not dizzy are you?"

No, more like dazed, "No, I'm fine." I lied.

"Okay..." she said, still looking at me closely.

Using up the tiny bit of courage I could muster up, I lifted my reluctant face and smiled at her. The minute our eyes made contact, I knew I couldn't lie to myself any longer. With just one glance into her stunning emerald eyes, she had me wrapped around her finger, which no girl at all besides her could do.

Good God, why did it have to be her, of all people? The girl that could hardly show how she was feeling half the time, the girl that I was formerly enemies with? Why, of all people, did I have to fall so deeply and stupidly in love with a girl I knew would never return my feelings?

Wait a second, though. I didn't know that for sure. Her pink aura said it all the day we had dinner. She must have returned a bit of my feelings, right? Tomoyo told me herself - I'm the first boy she's ever agreed to go on a date with since the sixth bloody grade. If I tried and believed hard enough, I knew she could somehow grow to love me like I loved her.

_That's right, Syaoran,_ I told myself, _be the Prince that you are, and fight the dragon that you know poses a challenge to you. The sooner you overcome it, the sooner you are able to get through to your sleeping beauty..._

**_xxxxxx_**

**Sakura -**

The entire time inside the limosine, I couldn't help but fuss over Syaoran inside my head. He was making me grow worried, and I didn't want that. Syaoran was no more important to me than every other person in my life, so I should be able to treat him like I treat the others. I normally wouldn't care if they were acting strange, but what on earth was it about Syaoran that made me do the exact opposite of what I wanted?

I wanted to avoid him the minute we'd met, and I wanted to make sure that the only role he had in my life was the role of the roommate, and the classmate. But as the days went by, he started being something more...

Something I couldn't quite put my finger on. Something I knew I had to avoid.

It wasn't as easy for me to admit certain feelings, but being the lucky audience that you are, you don't get to find out why. And more importantly (no offence) Syaoran - I had to keep sure that he never ever found out why.

"We're here," Wei announced, parking the car.

I was so busy staring at Syaoran that I didn't even bother to look outside my window. All too fast for me to notice, he was already out of the car and holding the door open for me. I got out quickly to see my surroundings and figure out what exactly "Syaoran's Place" was.

My eyebrows drew together to show my confusion. We were parked on the side of a road, where a deserted and crappy looking park was just a few feet away. I looked at Syaoran, giving him a weird look which I hoped would show my curiousity.

"Um, we already went to the park," I stated, slowly walking towards the rusty and moss covered jungle gym. The swing sets, my favourite piece of entertainment provided by a playground, I noticed, were old and very rusty. I was only a few pounds, and it didn't seem like it could hold me up.

"Wait here," I heard Syaoran say to Wei. He jogged up to me with a smile. "This isn't what I wanted to show you, Sakura. Folllow me,"

I did as I was told, and followed him down a narrow path. I could no longer hear the wind ringing in my ears, nor could I see the old playground anymore. The only thing surrounding us were tall green trees, green bushes, green everything.

Stopping to halt just as Syaoran, we came to face the opening of a big cave. Syaoran turned around and smiled, motioning for me to come forward. I looked to the cave, than to him. I shook my head vigorously. The cave did not look inviting at all. It only looked dingy and scary, which gave me the creeps.

"No way," I said, taking a step backward, "Not a chance."

"Come on," he coaxed, stretching his arm out towards me. I did not accept it, which seemed to bother him, "Please?"

I shook my head in reply.

Slowly, he walked towards me. I stared stupidly into his amber eyes, "Nothing will happen, I promise." I replied, telling him I didn't care.

"There's no way I'm going inside that cave."

Suddenly, his eyes grew gentle, and so did his voice. He took my hand in his, and drew circles with his thumb around my knuckles, which somehow soothed me, and got me just a little less scared. Not that I was _very_ scared, just a little creeped out. "Sakura," he said with a voice so soft I could sleep, "don't you trust me?"

I sighed in defeat. He smiled gratefully to me and lead the way inside the cave, not once letting go of my hand. I could hardly make out his figure because it was so dark, which would explain my sigh of relief when I saw a light at the end. "Just a bit further," he informed me. I nodded, though I knew he couldn't see.

When we finally reached the end of the cave, I practically ran out. I couldn't stand to be in that cave any longer, it was just too dark for me to handle. I bent down low so I could catch my breath. When I looked up, after having my breathing return to normal, what I saw shocked me. So this was Syaoran's place.

It seemed to be a beautiful green valley, with plants and flowers of all kinds growing within the bushes and on a beautifully dug flower bed. The sun was shining down upon the flower petals which made them bud into spectacular shapes. Just a few feet from me, I could hear the movement of a medium sized lake.

"Oh my goodness..." I breathed, spinning around and around to take in all the beautiful things.

"Do you like it?" Syaoran asked from behind me.

"Do I ever!" Was my immature reply. I didn't care at the moment however, because I was too preoccupied with the flowers that I was currently staring at. I heard him chuckle. "So this is your place, huh?" I asked, not bothering to look at him when asking. He didn't seem to mind.

"My special place, yep. Just like the one you have back at the college. The one with the cherry blossom tree, do you remember?" I nodded. My special place was nothing compared to this, though.

"How often do you come here?" I asked out of pure curiousity.

"Not frequently since I've been in Japan. The last time I came here was the day before I left to go to college. But since we've arrived here, I've felt the need to come back to this place more often." He paused before he went on, "I'm really glad I took you to come with me." His last sentence was said shyly.

_Oh no_, I thought, _don't let his crush get to you. Ignore it. _And I did the opposite.

I smiled as I stood up from my crouching position, "So am I," I said with a smile. My eyes roamed over towards the lake. Rocks were visible beneath it's surface, circular ones with no edges one on top of the other. I knew they were not a danger to my feet. I looked to Syaoran with a question in my eyes, and he knew what it was. He smiled, giving me permission to dip my feet in.

Quickly, I took off my step in shoes and placed my feet inside the cool and comforting water. I closed my eyes and giggled softly. I could feel a pair of intense amber eyes burning a whole through my back.

"Listen, Sakura..." I heard him say. I did as I was told once more, "I...I just thought that you should know, I've had a great time with you since we've been roommates, and an even better time since we've spent our Spring Break together. And I..." he hesitated, "I lo - "

I whipped around, thinking I knew the end of his sentence, "No need to say anymore, Syaoran. I know." I saw his eyes widen in shock as I took my feet out of the water, "I love - "

For some reason I did not know why, his eyes grew even wider, but I didn't let my confusion keep me from finishing my sentence, " - the fact that we spend so much time together." I smiled brightly at him, patting his shoulder.

It took him a while to answer, "Y - Yeah,"

"It's strange though, don't you think?" I asked, putting my shoes back on even though they were still wet, "It's only been a few months, and we're really great friends."

"Yeah...strange."

At least I admitted _that_ to myself. Syaoran and I were already very close, and I liked that _he_ liked that we spend so much time together. I was starting to think that he might become yet another best friend to me, like Tomoyo is.

But for some reason, the idea of Syaoran becoming one of my best friends didn't seem right. Neither did the idea of him being just a roommate, and just a classmate. It seemed like he was destined for a different role in my life, but like before, I just couldn't quite put my finger on it.

Oh well, I'd figure it out later.

**_xxxxxx_**

**Syaoran - **

"I love - " In just that one second my heart beat grew so fast that I thought it would explode. It seemed like a lifetime before Sakura finished the rest of her sentence, " - the fact that we spend so much time together." And in that other second, it suddenly stopped, and dropped far, far down my stomach.

I was glad that she didn't notice my face falter. I was also glad that she didn't notice the drop of my voice, and how I was only answering with things no longer than three syllables. She didn't even notice my frigging context clues to figure out that what I was _really_ trying to tell her was that_ I love her!  
_  
How could she possibly get the idea that I was going to say _that_? Didn't my nervousness, my timidness, and my sentence give her enough information that I wasn't going to say I didn't love spending time with her (even though I do), but that I just love _her_?

Out of everything that I was hinting on, she only noticed the fact that I was no longer in the mood to sight see.

-

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**Aww, poor Syaoran. Read and Review to cheer him up :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent _xD


	17. Now or Never

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: I own the plot of this story and everything else besides CCS and the characters! HA.

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts/exaggerated words  
**bold font** - point of view

Now...on with chapter seventeen!

**Now or Never**

**Sakura - **

The day started out easy enough. I was in bed quite early the other day, because I hadn't done anything besides go with Syaoran to his special place. We would've spent more time there, and I'm sure we would've gone to other places just as fun, except he was obviously hinting that he didn't want to be out anymore.

Being the great person that I am, I noticed his discomfort and suggested that we head back.

I'm so observant, aren't I? I picked up on that hint quickly!

Because there weren't any other hints, right?

I couldn't be so sure of that. There was something else he was trying to tell me, I could feel it. Or maybe I was just thinking too hard on it? I shook the thought out of my head, thinking that it was probably nothing very urgent. I mean, how important could it have been? Not very, I supposed, so I let it rest, and so did I.

Stretching my arms out as far as they could go, I hopped out of bed, suddenly remembering about what would be taking place later in the night. My date with Syaoran Li had finally arrived! Not that I was waiting. Sure, I made a countdown, but that didn't mean I was waiting. It's not like he was either, right?

I opened up the desk drawer that Kero was currently residing in to check whether or not he was still asleep. And sure enough, because Kero wasn't exactly your average early bird, was snoozing softly with a chocolate covered cookie in his mouth. I patted him softly, and closed the drawer. I would wake him later.

Stepping into a pair of slippers, I walked towards my door to open it. Someone else did, before I had the chance, though. I stepped back quickly as the door swung violently open, almost hitting me in the face. I glared hard at Tomoyo who was beaming back at me with her hands held tightly together, stars in her eyes.

"Today's the day!" She squealed, hopping forward to grab my hand. She tugged furiously.

"I know, I know!" I said frantically, wanting to make a pit stop to the bathroom. We walked straight passed it, however, as she dragged me all the way over to the dining hall. Only two chairs were currently occupied - one by Eriol (who was able to see again) and the other by Wei. I had no idea where The Romantics were.

"Eat up, eat up!" Tomoyo urged, pushing my shoulders downwards so that I was brutally forced to sit down. She lathered syrup onto my pancakes and shoved a couple of strawberries in my mouth. I was trying very hard not to slap my very best friend in the face. Was she trying to kill me?

"Slow down, sweetheart," Eriol said, his voice dripping with amusement. How could forcing food down my throat, blocking my air supply, possibly ending my life, be funny? "You don't want to get her face covered with syrup, she still has to put make-up on," he suggested with a laugh, winking wickedly at me.

I scowled at him, just as his crazy as ever girlfriend stopped force feeding me, "My gosh," she said, clearly in thinking mode, "he's right!" I took that chance to swallow, giving me the ability to breathe again.

I took a raspy breath, "You're insane, Tomoyo."

She huffed impatiently, "Hurry up, Sakura! We don't have all day." Her fingers tapped lightly against the mahogony table as she waited, frantic as a psycho, beside me. Every bite I took, it seemed, she grew even more impatient and rushed.

"Honestly, Sakura!" She said after a while, "If you eat that much, how are you ever supposed to fit into the dress that I put so much effort into making?"

I glowered at her, "Alright, already. I'm done now, happy?" I was only saying that for her sake, so she wouldn't officially go crazy with impatience.

Just as soon as I'd said the word "done," Tomoyo had my hand in hers, with me clinging onto her for dear life. I tried telling her to slow down countless times, hoping that I wouldn't die at such a young age. I'm joking, of course, but if you were to see Tomoyo in such a mood, believe me, you'd be hoping that, too.

After practically throwing me onto her bed and raiding her vanity for all the make-up she could find, I wondered aloud where Syaoran and his sisters were. Without looking up from her task at hand, she answered, "Syaoran's probably not up yet. And his sisters have been up since six in the morning, helping with the decorations."

"Really?" I asked, astonished.

"Yep, they want this 'event' to be as great as it can possibly be." She replied, still not looking at me.

"And Meiling is with them?" I questioned.

"You bet."

"And you're not because..?"

"Because I'm getting you prepared, of course!" She snapped, wheeling towards me, as if the question offended her. I shrugged as innocently as I could. She rolled her eyes, and gathered up all of the God forsaken make-up in her arms. She threw it onto her bed, and took my hand in hers once more.

"Dear God, Tomoyo, it's only eight thirty in the morning! This 'event' won't start until seven o'clock tonight! Surely it won't take this long to get me prepared!" She was already steering me towards the bathroom and pushing me through the door.

"Sakura, this would be so much easier if you would just shutup and let me do my work!" She snapped once more, locking the bathroom door shut. "I have to mold you to perfection, understood? My make-up and dress will just take a jiffy to put on, but yours needs the most attention right now, please?" It was more like a demand.

She slipped my pajama top off and helped me out of my other clothes. Of course, Tomoyo had played doll with me before, so my naked body was nothing new to her, and I had nothing to be shy about. She took the elastic bands out of my hair and briefly ran them through her fingers, just as a quick brush.

Suddenly, we heard the doorknob turn, but neither of us panicked because we both knew that the intruder would not be able to come in. Afterall, Tomoyo had locked the door.

"Hello, anyone in there?" Syaoran's voice came.

A blush that I did not expect had somehow found its way onto my cheeks.

Tomoyo smirked, "Hey, we're in here!" She said through the door which kept Syaoran from seeing me nude.

"You and Eriol?" Syaoran asked disgustedly, recognizing her voice.

"No, you moron. Sakura and I. She's just about to take a shower, would you like to join her?"

I hit Tomoyo as hard as a best friend was allowed to. She didn't even wince, only laughed. "Stupid!" I hissed through my teeth, as quietly as I could. Syaoran probably heard me though, not to mention the growl that came from deep within my throat. I was quite annoyed with her.

"Thanks, but I'm pretty sure coming from that voice she wants to take it alone." He said.

"You're missing out on a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Tomoyo yelled, a smile spread so widely across her face that she could've gotten wrinkles. I gaped at her like a goldfish.

"I think it's about time you stop embarrassing her," Syaoran suggested, and the next thing we heard were footsteps, walking away from the bathroom.

"You're incredibly insane, you know that?" I hissed once more, though the entire situation kind of amused me. I stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain closed. I was just about start my shower when Tomoyo roughly pulled the curtain to one side and pulled me out. She dragged me over to the oversized bathtub, which I had yet to use.

"What are you doing?" I asked, as she continued to drag me to the tub.

"Your hair needs to be perfect for tonight, so I'll be washing your hair for you," she explained, twisting the tap above the tub. She placed two fingers underneath the flowing water to see whether or not it seemed warm enough. When it was nearly over the brim, she gave me the permission to step in.

"Well, dunk your head!" She instructed impatiently, "How do you expect me to wash your hair properly if it's not wet?"

"Alright, sorry," I apologized, dunking my head underneath the warm water. I resurfaced and wiped my face with my hands. I inched closer towards Tomoyo as she beckoned me to do so sitting on the edge of the tub. Her hands, I noticed, were dripping with this weird, green, gooey substance.

She massaged the mixture of whatever into my scalp, so that it covered every inch of my head and hair. I sat with my eyes closed beneath her, humming a tune that I'd just made up. I felt quite relaxed. "So, what did you do yesterday?" She asked conversationally, so that she was just for a moment, the normal kind of a best friend.

"Oh," I said, stopping my humming, "Syaoran took me to his special place."

"Special place?" She questioned, "What is that?"

My eyes fluttered open, the image of the beautiful meadow like surroundings suddenly becoming clear in my head, "Oh, it's beautiful, Tomoyo," I said, "it's like his own personal meadow, you know? Or garden. It's green everywhere, except for the pretty flowers growing and all that. And he even has this miniature lake thing. He let me put my feet in."

"Sounds fun," she commented with enthusiasm.

"It really was. It's too bad we had to leave so quickly, though."

"Why did you have to leave quickly?" She asked, her voice confused.

I sighed, not even knowing why myself, "I don't know. Syaoran just started acting really weird and stuff, and it was after we just had this great conversation. I don't even understand it myself." I admitted.

Tomoyo paused, "What was your conversation about?" Her tone of voice becoming cautious.

"Well," I began, "he started it, actually. He told me about how he's had such a great time being my roommate, and something about being really glad that we got to spend our Spring Break together," I could practically see Tomoyo grinning like a moron, "and he said he loved spending time with me."

"He said _what_?" She repeated, surprised. I didn't understand what was so shocking about it, "He said he loved spending _time_ with you? That's what he said he loved?" She almost sounded angry.

"Er, well," I said, remembering our entire conversation, "actually, not really. It sounded like he was going to say he loved _something_, and it was pretty obvious about what it was he was going to say. So I finished the sentence for him, saying that I already knew he loved the fact we spend so much time together." I explained.

"So..." Tomoyo said wonderingly, finally finishing with my head, allowing me to turn around and face her. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, as if in thinking mode, "You interrupted him when he was about to say that he apparently loved something, and you finished the sentence for him by saying that you loved spending time with him?"

I thought about it a little, "Well, yeah, basically."

Tomoyo sighed sadly and rinsed her hands out by the sink. "Poor guy."

My eyebrows moved together, "Why? What?" I asked curiously.

She smiled a sympathetic smile as she turned towards me, "You really are clueless, aren't you?"

"Clueless about what?"

She shook her head and continued to watch me bathe, "Don't dunk your head in the water again until five minutes is over. You have to let that green stuff really get in there."

_**xxxxxx **_

**Syaoran -**

Secretly, I thanked the heavens that Sakura could not see my face. My face was just about as red as a tomato, the minute Tomoyo mentioned me joining her in the shower. Just because the fact that I was in love with Sakura was obvious to everybody except for her, didn't mean they got to take advantage of it.

After brushing my teeth in one of the other four bathrooms we had, I walked into the dining hall. I was surprised to only see Eriol and Wei there, but they both explained to me why I did not see my sisters eating with us.

"Up since the crack of dawn, decorating the ballroom and bossing people around." Eriol said.

"Why didn't I see that coming?" I asked miserably.

Wei got up and told us something about getting more orange juice. I didn't really hear, I was too concentrated on me and Sakura's last conversation. After he had left the room, Eriol took his chance to try and interrogate me. I didn't expect that I'd spill my guts out to him, like the buddy-buddy type of cousins he thought we were. Cause we're not.

"Damnit, Eriol, how stupid am I?" I asked, almost outraged.

"To fall in love with Sakura Kinomoto, very." He answered. My eyes narrowed. Was he insulting her? I wasn't going to take that lying down. Chuckling, he patted my back, "Calm down, cousin. I didn't mean it like that. All I meant is that, I've known her longer than you," searching for the right words.

"So?"

"So..." he continued to search, "she's not exactly the type to date. Her last boyfriend was Miko in the sixth grade - but I'm sure you knew that - and he kissed another girl while she was unknowingly watching, in one of her favourite places - I'm sure you knew that, too." I nodded, to show I was paying attention.

"I don't know why, but ever since she'd made all of the Cards hers, she's been so stone-ish, like your average pebble that you see on the street."

"But," he continued, "ever since she met you..."

"What?" I asked, hoping that whatever he had to say was something positive, "What is it?"

"I don't know what it is. She's been more...enthusiastic, since you've been apart of her life. More like her old self. You've gotten her to do things she hasn't done in years, like go on a date, or flirt, or even laugh and actually mean it. So, honestly, Syaoran?" My eyes were glistening with gladness and hope, "I don't think she's in love with you."

My face faltered, "What? What do you mean? You just said that she - "

"I think it's something deeper than that," he said cheerfully. My smile magically reappeared.

"You really think so?"

"Somehow..." he said in a thoughtful tone, "I know so."

_**xxxxxx**_

**Sakura -**

Two excruciating hours and forty five long minutes later, I finally finished my bath. Instead of letting the green stuff soak into my hair for five minutes like Tomoyo instructed, she kept on changing her mind every two seconds, extending the time by another five minutes, when finally, she decided on twenty.

"What will this even do?" I asked.

"It'll make the scent from your hair grow stronger. It will also make it easier for me to work with tonight. Soft, water like, even."

I splashed the water around in the tub impatiently, waiting for the twenty minutes to finally be over. Then, after instructing me like a two-year-old on how to properly clean myself, she handed me a white bar of soap that was also supposed to make my "scent" grow stronger and more appealing.

"What scent are you even talking about?" I asked, irritated.

"For the last time, Sakura. Cherry blossoms! Honestly, you're over the clueless scale, you know that?"

I let the statement rest, but my thoughts did not. There she went with the "clueless" statement again. I certainly was not clueless. I notice everything. Every small thing there was out there! I am extremely observant. Maybe it was the large, obvious things in life that I failed to see?

I got up from the tub, creating a puddle of water beneath my feet with every step that I took towards my bathrobe. Tomoyo handed it to me, and I wrapped it around my body. I started rubbing at different areas to dry myself out. She waited until I was finished to drag me back to her room.

On our way out, we ran into Wei. "Hello," Tomoyo greeted, "do you know where Eriol is?"

"Of course, Miss Daidouji," Wei answered, "he and Master Li are waiting inside the limosine for me, so they can get their suits for tonight. Would you like to see them off, or do you have something for me to pass along to him?" He asked courteously.

"Oh no, thank you, Wei," Tomoyo answered, "please don't let us keep you any longer. But if they happen to need us or anything, just let them know that we'll be in my room the entire day preparing, please?" The old man nodded once, bowed in goodbye and began to walk down the stairs to the limosine.

After having arrived in Tomoyo's room, she threw me the hair dryer and another towel to brush against my hair as I blew my auburn bangs dry. I pushed the button which let the hot air come out slowly and just a little quietly from the dryer. Tomoyo waited for me, sitting with her hands on her knees before her violet vanity.

I watched her as I continued to dry my hair. She stared into the reflection of her amethyst eyes, a concentrated face clouding over the stars which were normally within them. My own emerald ones roamed over her hands, which were rolled into tiny balls. They then floated towards her tensed spine, which was slightly leaned in towards the vanity, allowing her to stare harder into her reflection.

Something was bothering her. Best friend's intuition.

Just as I was about to turn the dryer off to question her odd behaviour, she did it for me. Too quickly for me to register, Tomoyo got up abruptly from her seat, grabbed the dryer, and threw it onto the bed. She then stood, staring at me with those same concentrated eyes of hers.

"What's with you?" I asked, a little shocked with what she was doing.

"No, that's what I want to ask you, Sakura." She said, her hands still rolled tightly into painful fists. Her knuckles were as white as the moon.

"I didn't do anything! God, you've been acting up the entire time we've been here. What exactly is your problem, Tomoyo?"

"Just..." she sighed, letting her hands relax. She took a seat beside me on the bed and held my hands in hers, "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to spazz out on you. I just need to know, okay? What is going on with you and Syaoran?" I now stared at her with disbelieving eyes. Did I just hear what I thought I just heard?

"You," I said accusingly, getting up from the bed so I could go to my own room, "I can't believe you! What is wrong with everybody in this entire mansion? Syaoran and I are just friends, okay? If Syaoran has a crush on me, that's good for him, okay? Just let him be!" I wheeled around to glare at her.

"But Sakura, we - "

"Friends can take other friends out on dates, right? Can't anyone hear us complaining? God, being in love with Syaoran is - "

"What?" She asked, interrupting me once more.

"Well," I said haughtily, "before you interrupted me, I was going to say that being in love with Syaoran is already hard enough, so the rest of you can just - "

"Sakura..." she began. I was just about ready to blow my top off if she interrupted me again. I was in the middle of an angry rant! Didn't she see that I was on a roll and I didn't feel like stopping? "Didn't you realize what you just said?"

"My God!" I screamed, the steam visibly shooting out from my ears, "I realize everything, okay? I'm not clueless like you and everybody else says! I notice everything! I'm not that stupid as to not realize what I said! I know I said that I was in love with Syao - "

My breath caught in my throat, depriving me of all my ability to speak. A single hand flew to my mouth, when where it really wanted to go was to my throat, so it could suffocate me until I died. I stumbled backwards onto the bed, burying my entire self into Tomoyo's blankets. If I was going to flicker, I could not do it infront of my very best friend.

"You admit it then?" She said quietly. She did not remove the blankets from me.

"I don't admit anything," I said through gritted teeth, as my stomach appeared and reappeared from vision, "that was a mistake. I'm not in love with him."

"But Sakura, you just said it yourself that you're - "

"I'm not in love with him!" I shrieked, causing the flickering to increase.

_Fight it_, I thought. _Not now, not with Tomoyo. Leave me alone, you bloody flicker._

I needed Syaoran. I had no idea why, but he was the only one that could ever get my flickering to go away as quickly as I wanted it to. But no one could ever make them permanently go away. All I knew was that he made me breathe like no one else. No words could describe how I felt when I was with him.

And whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, that still does not mean I'm in love with him. I refused to let myself think that way.

When my temper had gone down and I was ready to speak to Tomoyo, I lifted the blankets off of me. But when I looked up, Tomoyo had gone. The door was open, and when I poked my head out through the doorway I could only see her retreating shadow, walking away from me. I had to apologize.

"Tomoyo, wait!" I said, running to catch up with her still with my wet hair and robe wrapped around me, "Wait!"

When Tomoyo turned around, she was not angry like I expected her to be. Instead, her amethyst pupils were in the shape of stars, like they always were. She was beckoning me to come forward, to follow her. I did, my lips pressed into a thin line. On and on we walked, down a hall I'd never seen.

When finally, we reached two incredibly large white doors. They were open wide, revealing to us a landing, and then a set of marble stairs leading downwards into the ballroom.

We could see all the hard working men and women decorating the ballroom into perfection. And I must say that it almost was. Just a half step away from _exact_ perfection...it amazed me. When it would finally become the ultimate perfect would be later in the night, when all the guests, including myself, would be arriving.

"Whoa..." I gasped over Tomoyo's shoulder. She was smiling. I snapped out of my reverie and forced my eyes to the floor, "Hey, Tomoyo, I didn't mean to...er, spazz out on you back in your bedroom. I was just a little angry, and I'm really nervous about this whole thing tonight. So if you - "

" - Don't worry about it." She said cheerfully.

"Seriously, Tomoyo. I feel really - "

"Don't feel anything but excited for tonight, okay? Now, let's go and get you dolled up for the event!"

She pulled me towards the hall we just went down. I was happy that she forgave me so easily, but I did not come along as she tugged my arm. My eyes were still on the floor. "Sakura, what's the matter?"

"Uh..." I said, searching for the words, "about what I said, Tomoyo...about what I said about being in...um...lo..." I reluctantly looked at her face. She was holding back laughter, I could tell, which only made my task harder, "about being in lo...in..." she was suffocating with the suppressed giggles.

"Just say it, you big baby!" She teased, the laughter finally pouring from her mouth.

I hit her on the arm playfully, "I didn't mean it. Really, I didn't! I just wasn't thinking and I - "

" - Don't worry about it!" She said again, "It comes with being a best friend, Sakura. I'll believe anything you say. Haven't you gotten that through your head yet?" She asked.

Sometimes, you really do have to love Tomoyo.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran - **

Exactly ten hours later, at 6:30pm, Tomoyo, Eriol, Sakura and I were all on our way to the ballroom after having my mother, sisters, and Meiling send servants down to fetch us. Eriol and I were already in our black tuxedos, slicked back hair, and formal mode, ready to meet and greet with whomever my mother made us.

When we arrived at the ballroom, I certainly was impressed. The two main colours which devoured the room were white and gold. Gold fabrics connected the white pillars standing in a circle around us all. God only knows how many circular tables there were, fit enough for six people, blanketed with white silky sheets.

Incredibly long tables with covered food placed ever so neatly on top were planted off to both sides of the ballroom. It was a very good thing that the food was all covered; because I'm sure I would've lost control and eaten everything in sight.

A tall, wide platform was at the front, where people were unstacking chairs for the orchestra to sit on. A single microphone was held up by a microphone stand in the center, where the music provider for the night would be singing, and where my mother would be speaking to welcome all our guests.

I ran shaky hands through my unruly brown hair. An imaginary clock was ticking in my head, so loudly that I could barely hear what anyone else was saying. Hopefully things would go well with Sakura tonight. Hopefully I wouldn't be too embarrassed to look at her when I finally tell her how I feel.

We were met with my four sisters, Meiling, and mother. They too were already in their gowns. I told them they all looked beautiful, and as did Eriol. I then began to scan the room, skimming through all the unfamiliar faces of the servants in waiter outfits, and the decorators finishing up on certain things.

"Um, where are Tomoyo and Sakura?" I asked, still looking around for her, "I thought you guys got somebody to call them down here, too?"

"We did," Meiling answered, standing gracefully before me with her arms across her chest in a bright red cocktail dress. Her hair was down as usual, red streaks visible in her jet black hair, "the servant reported back to us saying that Tomoyo is just doing some finishing touches on Sakura's outfit."

They all smirked at me, "Can't wait to see her, can you?"

I scowled, "What about Wei? He'll be coming here too, right?"

"Of course," mother answered, "he just must be running late."

I sighed, "Okay. Now, all we have to do is wait for another thirty minutes to pass so we can thank everybody for coming and then start the party?"

"Well, yeah, basic - Tomoyo! " One of my sisters began to answer. Eriol and I swiveled around to see what it was that got my sister using such a high tone of breathy voice. I could see immediately what it was.

Eriol rushed up to meet with his girlfriend. Smiling, Tomoyo walked down the marble steps, and took his hand. Her hair was in quite the high pony tail. She looked like a bride, wearing a pure white V-neck sort of dress which showed just enough cleavage to get Eriol's mouth watering. The gown reached up to her ankles, wrapping itself neatly and beautifully around every curve of her body.

Not once taking her eyes off of her, Eriol brought her to us with his hand still in hers. You could see that the pink across her cheeks was not the work of make-up. "Hi everybody," she said shyly. Her eyes scanned the floor beneath her.

And, just as expected, my sisters were all over her within the next second. They refrained from the tugging at the clothes thing, though, not wanting to ruin the beautiful gown. They shrieked with happiness, telling her infinite times about how wonderful she looked, and asking her another million times about whether or not she made it, and of course, she did.

"But, where is Sakura?" One asked, after they finished harassing her.

Tomoyo turned around, and hissed, "Sakura? Sakura, come down here, you scaredy-cat!"

Only then did I notice an auburn hair coloured head, peeping out from the side of the large white doors. Sakura shook her head from side to side vigorously, only letting the tips of her brown bangs into our vision. Tomoyo continued to hiss furiously adding comments like, "I worked so hard on that dress! Aren't you going to let anybody see it?"

"Oh yeah," Tomoyo added, stopping her hissing for just a moment, "sorry about being late. We practically had to drag Sakura down here."

"We?" Eriol asked.

"Oh," she said, "Wei. We ran into him in the hallway. He looks so handsome!" She giggled, "He agreed to escort Sakura down the ballroom." I fidgeted quietly, and unfortunately, Tomoyo noticed, "Don't worry, silly," she said, "she hasn't forgotten about being your date. Believe me," she added quietly at the end. What was that supposed to mean?

Wei then stepped out from the side, stretching out his arm. Slowly, ever so slowly, Sakura's appearance began to take shape. I was so ready to see how beautiful she looked in Tomoyo's gown, until some idiot decided to play games with the lighting.

An incredibly bright spotlight pointed itself directly at Wei and Sakura, only letting us see their silhouettes. I had to keep in a growl.

Each second seeming like an hour, I saw Sakura's beautiful silhouette link arms with Wei. They then began to make their way down the marble steps, one foot after the other, taking their sweet, precious time. With the patience of a road rager, I stood at the foot of the stairs with the rest of them, waiting.

I heard a large in take of breath. I didn't even realize that it was me. With her emerald eyes looking anywhere and everywhere except into mine, Sakura's black silhouette cautiously came into the normal light, thus showing to us the gown that Tomoyo had been going crazy about. A smudge of pink unnoticedly came to appear on my cheeks, either from shyness or the fact that I still hadn't let out my breath.

With her arms covered in silky white gloves which reached to about her elbows, she let loose from Wei. Not knowing what else to do with them, she placed them behind the gown. It was a forest green gown, one of those large types that puffed out at the waist, almost looking like an overturned tea cup. What looked like a corset was what she wore on top, the laces tied neatly and carefully at her back.

As she came closer, and as I stared more closely into her eyes, I could see how much more of a great job Tomoyo had done on Sakura's make up. So that her emerald orbs were more breath taking than ever that night, Tomoyo made them brim with beauty with just the right amount of eyeliner. Her lashes were curled to exact perfection, only powdering her face with just a hint of white.

When finally she reached the very last marble step, Wei moved forward to greet my mother and the others, so that it was only the angel that stood infront of me and I, together. My hands grew sweaty, giving me no other choice but to shove them deep into my pockets. I looked up at her, but she was not looking at me, so I continued to stare.

As if from a great distance away, we heard someone say, "Are you two just going to stare at each other this entire night? Stop being a baby and just tell her that she looks great. We have things to do!"

My face filling with the brightest colour of red ever known to man kind, my eyes snapped towards the ground. Sakura didn't seem bothered by it, "Um, you look..." she stuttered with her words, looking from me to the floor, "you look really..." she bit her lip, "really...really...nice." I thought that if she bit her lip any harder it would start to bleed.

"Thanks," I said shyly, chewing the inside of my cheek so that it wouldn't be so obvious that I was just as nervous as her, "You look...you look absolutely gorgeous."

With just a hint of a smile appearing across her cheeks, she hit me playfully on the arm to lighten the tension between us, "Shutup. You're just saying that."

She walked passed me, grabbing my arm as she did so. Happily, I linked mine with hers and brought her over to the rest of the gang. I held her protectively, eyeing my sisters with a look of warning, telling them that they better not lay a hand on Sakura. I would not let them embarrass me any further by fussing over how great my date looked that night.

Of course they huffed angrily, stomping and complaining. But I didn't care. Sakura was my date, and I wanted to make this a night that both of us could remember.

_**xxxxxx**_

"Hello," I greeted, for honest to God, the _trillionth_ time that night. Some of the people that arrived at the so-called party I didn't even know! Some of them were bloody magazine reporters, interviewing my sisters, mother and I so consistently that I almost collapsed from a migraine, "Yes, it's me, Xiao-Lang." I said, a fake smile on my lips, "Yes, I know I look different. Thank you so much for coming!"

Sakura and I were on one side of the door, Tomoyo and Eriol across from us, and my sisters, Meiling and mother all standing inside, waiting to greet them once more, "Hello," Sakura began, in the most cheerful tone she could muster, "I'm Sakura Kinomoto. Xiao-Lang's roommate at college." Question here, question there, "No, Xiao-Lang and I are not together. Yes, I have certainly enjoyed spending my time here with him in China. We are great friends."

Those words stung like ice, but I did not let it show.

Tomoyo and Eriol both looked like they were doing an extremely better job than Sakura and I. They'd been smiling so wide that entire time of greeting with guests that it was like smiling was all they were supposed to do in life, "Hi there!" Tomoyo would say happily, shaking yet another hand. Another question asked, "Yes, I'm Eriol Hiirigazawa's girlfriend. We've been dating for quite some time now."

And of course, with Eriol being a well known family member to the Li Clan in China, the usual question of marriage tended to come up more than often, "Will we hear wedding bells any time soon?"

Tomoyo would always just blush, as Eriol just smiled and answered, "Tomoyo and I have spoken about this. We both feel very deeply for each other, but believe that we still have a lot to do in life. We both think that it'd be best of we just waited a while, and see what happens." After every time he answered this question, he always kissed her cheek as a camera flashed, only making her blush even more.

From beside me, Sakura would always get distracted when someone asked that question, winking at Tomoyo and sticking her tongue out in a childish manner. Although I knew Tomoyo must've hated being asked that, I loved it, because seeing Sakura act like that was something you just didn't see her doing very often. And plus, she looked adorable.

"Oh, Xiao-Lang!" A woman with bright red lipstick screamed, planting a huge wet one on my cheek. I fought the urge to wipe it, "It's been so long!"

"Auntie Yuna!" I said with fake enthusiasm, returning the enormous bear hug she was suffocating me with. I'd always been annoyed with my Auntie Yuna. She wasn't exactly an aunt, just more like a really close friend to my mother. She still looked the same, with her incredibly bright red lipstick, overdone eye shadow, and same exact weight as before. She hadn't lost a pound.

"You look so handsome, darling." She added, winking. I smiled, "Tell me, sweetheart, who is your friend?"

I let Sakura take the lead, "Hi! I'm Sakura Kinomoto. Xiao-Lang's roommate at college."

She blabbed on with more questions, as expected.

"Roommate! I see!" She winked slyly once more, "My Xiao-Lang here is extremely lucky to room with a girl like you. Look at you, my darling, you look absolutely wonderful. I must get your designer's name!" She patted Sakura's hands.

"Actually miss, my best friend, Tomoyo Daidouji made this gown for me. If you'd like her to make something for you, I'm sure she'd be more than happy. In fact, she's right there in front of us. With - "

"Eriol!" She shrieked, "Oh my..." she gasped, admiring from afar, "that boy has grown so handsome. That lady beside him is the one who designed your gown? She is extremely talented." Sakura nodded, "They certainly do seem very close. Tell me, my dear, are those two...?" She asked in a tone which indicated she would like to know whatever gossip there was between them.

"Yes," I answered for her, "Eriol and Tomoyo have been dating for quite a long time."

She placed a hand to her cheek and sighed dreamily, "Ah, young love." Sakura and I stood awkwardly beside her, not knowing whether or not she was going to snap out of it soon. She answered our question by eyeing us both slyly, "You two have fun together at this party, won't you?" With a wink and the blow of a kiss, she left us standing together, a hint of a blush remaining on both our cheeks.

"What is it with people thinking that we're together? For God's sake..." Sakura murmured, while she had the chance. Another family member or reporter was bound to come greet with us very, very soon.

I did not answer, not trusting my voice. _Maybe_, I thought_, it's because we look extremely good together!_

Soon, when all the greeting at the door had been accomplished and all was left to my sisters, Meiling and mother (they were extremely good with conversation), Eriol, Tomoyo, Sakura and I took our seats in a secluded table at the back, where we sipped our water patiently. The ballroom was practically full now, very, very few seats were left empty. We had just about the right amount of people.

With a happy look on her face, my mother tapped the microphone lightly. It squeaked, gathering all our attention, "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen," we all clapped, "I am very glad to have you all here tonight. The food is being uncovered as I speak - " a few heads turned around to see, " - and I must say that the chefs and servants did quite the great job." Applause filled the room once again, "Before you begin to eat, I would just like to wish you all a pleasant evening, and I hope that you enjoy!"

Mother placed the microphone back into its place and stepped off the stage. People began walking up to the long tables to fill up their plates, but all four of us stayed put. We heard the conductor of the orchestra whisper quietly, and with just a swing of his arm, they began to play. A sweet, soft melody of a brilliant slow song filled the ballroom, thus beginning the very first dance of the night.

A young man stepped up to where my mother once stood and began singing about the flowers in spring time, and how he longed to see the face of the one he hadn't seen in years. It was a sad song, but happy couples waltzed along with it.

I looked over at Sakura, who didn't look like she was having a good time at all. She half slouched in her seat, not wanting to make it look like she was a horrible date, sipping her water slowly. Her eyes were cast off towards the side, looking at all the dancing people. I hesitated to ask her to dance. Wanting to know if this was a bad idea, I looked over to Tomoyo and Eriol.

They were both wiggling their eyebrows and smiling encouraging smiles.

"Um..." I began, fidgeting in my seat, "Sakura, would you mind very much if - ?"

"Are we going to eat yet, guys?" She asked abruptly. I almost fell over in my seat, "If we don't eat now, there won't be anymore food left!" Grabbing Tomoyo's elbow, she dragged her off towards the nearest table. I sat, feeling rejected; as I watched their retreating figures walk over to the table full of food. I'd suddenly lost my appetite.

"Later then," Eriol said cheerfully, patting my back. No matter what he or Tomoyo said, I still felt humiliated.

**_xxxxxx_**

The rest of the night went very nicely. The food, as expected, tasted like heaven. All our guests, family member or not, were all having the greatest time. Talk and laughter filled the heavily decorated room, creating a mood which we all enjoyed. After we'd all finished eating and we were left to pick at our desserts, the time suddenly felt right to try one more time to ask Sakura to dance.

Straightening in my seat, I cleared my throat. She did not look in my direction but continued to pick consistently at her plate of jello. I coughed, "Hey, Sakura?" She lifted her head to look at me, but it didn't seem like she was paying very much attention, "Do you…er, maybe, do you want to…would you like to dance with me, Sakura?"

Tomoyo's eyes widened with glee and Eriol smiled smugly.

"Oh," she said, almost as if she were surprised, "I…" she glanced at Tomoyo, who was nodding her head vigorously, "I don't know, I'm kind of full, and Tomoyo's always told me never to dance on a full stomach, so maybe I should just - "

"You know I never said that before!" Her best friend interrupted.

"But Tomoyo, you know that…uh…" she panicked, for only God knows why. That same feeling of humiliation began to attack my nerves. Until, with a sigh, she finally agreed, "Oh, alright. I'd love to dance with you, Syaoran."

Seeming perfectly calm on the outside but screaming for joy on the inside, I got up from my seat, stretched out an arm, and waited for her to take my hand. Slowly she did so, making me go insane with the feel of her silky gloves being dragged across the almost sweaty surface of my palm.

"I…" she began, as we made our way onto the middle of the dance floor, "I should just let you know that I…I'm not exactly a great dancer…"

I chuckled, "You'll be fine."

"No, Syaoran, you don't understand, I'll step on your feet!" She warned.

"I won't hold it against you," I joked, pulling her along.

"But, maybe dancing with me isn't such a great - !"

"Do you trust me?" I asked abruptly, pulling her gently towards me so that we were in a ready dancing position. With both hands wrapped lightly around her waist, but tight enough to get in a great scent of cherry blossoms (which for some reason was stronger than ever before), I waited for her reply.

"You know I do," she answered in a whisper.

"Then believe me when I say that my feet are perfectly safe." I replied, with a slight smirk on my face.

"O – Okay…"

That same man who had been singing for the entire night began to deliver to us a new song. It was a much slower one, which told us the sad story of a woman and a man, longing to tell the other something, but not having the courage. I could not help but agree how much it related to me, just not with Sakura.

On and on we danced, and just as I'd said, she did not step on my foot once. I twirled her across the room, forgetting about everyone else that was currently present. Although the man had not stopped singing, the music seemed to fade away, leaving just Sakura and I to ourselves. My eyes only focused on one thing, and those were her emerald pools.

Breaking contact with my eyes, Sakura let her head rest lightly against my chest. She held me tight, and I never wanted her to let go.

Now was a good a time as any to tell her how I felt. But when I was not staring deep into her eyes, everybody seemed to magically reappear. The music came back, and so did every other dancing couple.

"Sakura…" I whispered softly into her ear, no doubtedly sending shivers down her spine, "Would you like to come out onto the terrace with me?"

She nodded, not saying a word.

I lead the way onto the terrace. We were silent all the while, and I refrained from looking at her. I thought that the more I saw of her, than the more nervous I'd be feeling, and I didn't want that. I couldn't let myself chicken out.

Seeing the outdoors through the glass windows, Sakura rushed ahead. She opened the terrace doors and breathed in the refreshing scent of the cool evening air. She seemed to glow brighter with beauty as the half full, silver moon shone its foggy light onto her auburn hair.

She turned to me and giggled, for no apparent reason. I smiled back at her.

"So, Sakura, I…I need to tell you something," I began, not thinking once about how I would tell her. The only thought I had in my mind was now, or never. Tell her now, or regret having to keep this inside, wondering endlessly about what could have been with her.

She stared at me, waiting. "I…I know we've only known each other for a few months, and - "

"Syaoran," she interrupted, "I thought we spoke about this already? I know that you love - "

"It's not that I just love spending time with you, Sakura!" I snapped, running a nervous hand through my hair. I didn't mean to lash out on her like that, but I would not be interrupted like before, leaving me without a chance to tell her how much I loved her. This time, it would be different.

She looked hurt, as if my snappish attitude harmed her physically.

"I…I'm sorry, Sakura." I apologized, walking up to her and taking both her hands in mine, "I didn't mean to say it like that, but it's the truth. I don't just love spending time with you, Sakura. After everything we've done together, and everything else, I…I've come to realize that I…"

Sakura continued to stare in that adorable way that made me want to melt.

"I…I love…"

Those three words, those three simple words that I'd been longing to say to her were not said.

Because I kissed her, smack dab on the lips.

I didn't know what else to do! I was so nervous; everything in my mind just seemed to go blank! I thought that maybe she would understand; maybe she would hear those three words through the burning kiss that I'd given her. That I was _still_ giving her.

She pulled away quickly, breathing as though she'd been underwater for a decade. We stood in silence, looking at one another.

"Sakura," I said in a raspy voice, as if I hadn't spoken in years, "I - " I began to take a step towards her. She took one back. My heart, from its original place in the pit of my stomach, slipped lower and lower until it finally hit rock bottom.

She had rejected me.

"Don't," she said sharply, sticking an arm out infront of her to keep me away, "Don't!"

"Sakura," I repeated, "I'm so sorry. Nothing, not one thing gave me the right to - "

My eyes were wide with shock when out of no where, she grabbed me and kissed me again.

Tonight was just full of surprises.

Forgetting about everything else, just like I'd done in the ballroom, I closed my eyes and gladly returned the kiss. I held her tightly, getting so deeply lost in the kiss that I almost failed to notice her hands, tangled in my chocolate brown hair.

Pulling away from me again, she stared down at the concrete terrace, this time not breathing at all. She didn't make a single noise. The only thing that could be heard, I believe, was the rapid beating of my heart, which was now in my chest, where it was supposed to be.

"I love you, Sakura." I said quietly.

She never answered. She never did a single thing, besides turn on her heel and run away. As far away from me as she possibly could.

"Wait!" I called, going back inside and running down the hall after her, "Please, wait!"

The sound of my voice only seemed to make her run faster. Before I knew it, she was no longer in my sight. I stopped, staring down the empty hallway. I just needed to give her some time, I thought. Just a little breathing space, so we could both figure out what was going on between us.

I walked to my room, not bothering to return to the party. I sighed, growling into my pillow. Only five minutes had passed, but it felt like a decade. Everything seemed longer when I wasn't with Sakura. I just couldn't take being away from her any longer, especially after what had just happened on the terrace.

I opened the door to my room and to my surprise saw Sakura's shadow, turning down the hallway, which lead back into the ballroom. I sighed, thinking that there was no chance that we'd be able to talk with everyone else around. So instead, I slinked back to my door, intending to slip off my clothes and sleep.

But then I noticed the blue light, shining from beneath her door.

I crept in quietly, remembering that Sakura wasn't the only person who slept in this room. Pushing my luck, I opened a random drawer. Lady Luck really seemed to be on my side that night. In the drawer, snoozing loudly was Kero, chocolates scattered everywhere.

I sighed; closing it shut, and walking over to her laptop, which was giving off the blue light. I was surprised to see an opened document, which Sakura must've forgotten to close. It was scrolled to the very top, and I realized, because of the title, it was her essay on me.

I turned away. I shouldn't be reading it. Besides, I knew what was going to be on there.

But my sisters…my stupid sisters. What was it that they said she added?

Turning back, I took hold of the mouse that was connected to it and scrolled up and down quickly. "Syaoran is this much old," it read, blah, blah, blah, "Syaoran likes to do this in his past time," same old, same old, "Syaoran is very skilled at so and so and so and so…" there was nothing of real importance to me in that essay.

My sisters must have been lying.

Until I scrolled down to the very bottom, reading the very last paragraph.

_Syaoran Li, Professor, though he is knew, he is a really wonderful guy. Although shy, timid, and quiet most of the time, he is exuberant and lively once you get to know him._ _And…and…and…_

I raised an eyebrow. Sakura wouldn't really submit her essay, making it seem as though she were struggling with words, would she?

_And…he's a really good kisser…_

Then I _definitely_ knew she wasn't going to submit it.

Still, I couldn't help but smirk. Things would turn out to be fine in the morning, I just knew it. Sakura and I would sort things out on the plane back to the college, and before either of us knows it, we'll be dating by the end of the day.

That is what some would call wishful thinking.

-

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**A kiss? Ooh la la! Read and Review, please and thanks!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 – _My life as a secret agent!_ xD


	18. Caught in the Act

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: Don't bother reading this, it's just a stupid sentence, claiming I don't own CCS or any of its characters. HAHA :)

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts/exaggerated words  
**bold font** - point of view

Now...on with chapter eighteen!

**Caught in the Act**

**Syaoran -**

Sleep came to me easily that night. My dreams were filled with visions of Sakura and I, in the most romantic of situations. I knew I must've muttered her name more than once in the sleep which I never wanted to wake up from. The minute I did however, I hopped out of bed and into the shower.

I wanted to be fresh, the day that I hooked up with the girl of my dreams.

Finishing my shower, I wrapped a cotton towel around my waste. Taking a long, hard look at myself in the mirror, I smiled. I splashed cold water over my cheeks, to stop myself from thinking about Sakura. She and I would be together soon enough, but with each second I grew more and more impatient.

Tomoyo, Sakura, and I were all leaving for college that day, of course, taking my mother's plane. Because of the party, we hardly had any time to pack. Thanks to the maids though, everything was folded and ready to go. Three bulging suitcases could be seen leaning against the hallway walls, waiting to be picked up by their owners.

I arrived at the dining hall for the final time. Wei was there before me, of course, along with Eriol, Tomoyo, and my sisters who were talking animatedly with each other. I didn't expect Sakura to be there, because she was always the latest riser out of all of us.

The moment I entered, their heads snapped up. They all had these weird looks on their faces, the kind that made me think that I was about to be attacked.

Ignoring them, I sat down and began to eat my breakfast. I tried so hard to keep myself from looking up at them, but I could feel their eyes watching my each and every movement. It was unnerving! Sighing in defeat, I dropped my fork loudly.

"Alright, alright." I said, not able to take anymore of this awkward treatment, "We kissed, okay?"

I thought I'd officially gone deaf. All the women present in the room began shrieking with enormous delight, and all these questions were being shot at me. They honest to God could've given some of the reporters the other night a run for their money. I could barely dodge any of them! It was so difficult.

Soon their questions were gone, and only "make me blush," kind of statements were being said.

"She wouldn't tell us a thing after she came back!" One yelled.

"We knew something had happened!"

"Sakura's cheeks were so red, and so were her eyes. We thought she'd been crying!"

"We were just about ready to beat you up! Tomoyo was livid!"

"Oh, you two make the cutest couple!"

"Tomoyo, be sure to take plenty of photos the night of their first real date,"

"Wait!" Eriol said loudly, over the high pitched voices of all the women. Immediately, they all stopped and turned to look at him, "Syaoran?" He asked. With an annoyed, pained look on my face, I also looked at him, "Did you guys even establish the fact that you two are a...an actual couple?"

I soon began to wish that they would ignore his question and just start screaming again. But they didn't. Instead, they all stared at me once more and waited for my reply. "Well..." I began, avoiding all of their eyes, "that, er, um...that really isn't any of your business, is it?" I said lamely. Their jaws somehow made their ways down to the middle of their chests.

They were all about to say something, but I spoke before they could get a word in.

"Okay, okay! So what if we haven't? It's not my fault, though! Last night was just weird, and I'm sure that she has an explanation for what she did..." They all looked confused, but I didn't bother explaining, "Anyway, you guys just watch. Before the end of the day, Sakura and I will be dating. I promise you that."

They all looked unsurely at me, "Trust me on this, you guys. She loves me back, I know it."

We all continued to eat our breakfast in silence, lost in our own thoughts. Sakura and I just had to be in love with each other. I felt it in the way we kissed. But Sakura was the type of girl you could call "a woman with many colours." The way she felt was practically always a mystery, but not around me.

She just had to love me back, she just had to!

Did I seem as desperate as I felt?

**_xxxxxx_**

**Sakura -**

It was expected - the flicker. The flicker came at exactly the wrong times. I was so jubilant, yet scared at the same time. Syaoran told me he loved me. Syaoran told me he loved me! I could hardly believe it. He actually gave me my first "real" kiss, too. Someone like Syaoran Li loved me...the sweetest, greatest guy I knew in my entire life. He loved me!

But I could not return his feelings.

Recovering from the flicker that night, I returned to the party, hoping that I could act normal. But I had been crying so hard, my bloodshot eyes gave me away. I knew everybody suspected something happened between us. I refused to answer their questions. I would not even tell Tomoyo about this, even though I was sure they'd all find out by morning.

Under the covers that night, I could not go to sleep. With Kero still asleep in the drawer, I flickered away all my sadness, guilt, everything. I felt nothing. I was a stone, again.

I could not flicker again. The more I flickered, the more chances I had of never being myself again. I knew what I had to do.

**_xxxxxx_**

**Syaoran -**

"Is Sakura ready yet?" I asked nervously. We were leaving in twenty minutes to go aboard my mother's private plane, so we really had no reason to be in a rush. It would not leave without us. But I needed to see Sakura's face, I needed to speak to her so that I could be able to keep my promise.

"I think so." Tomoyo replied, climbing down the stairs to join me sitting on the last step. She had just gone up to Sakura's room, to try and get her up from bed. She didn't join us for breakfast at all. Not having seen her for more than eight hours got me nervous. I practically begged Tomoyo to go up there and see her for me.

We sat in silence, staring at the floor beneath us. The silence was broke when she finally decided to speak, "I asked Sakura about what happened the other night."

"What did she say?" I asked.

She sighed, giving me a sad look, "I don't think you want to hear."

"No, no, I do." I assured her, turning to look into her amethyst eyes. She asked me if I was sure, "Of course I'm sure. Don't worry Tomoyo, it can't have been that bad could it?"

"Well..." she began hesitantly, "The first question I asked her was about what you two did when you guys left us after that dance." I nodded, "She said nothing." I remained silent, not letting her see the hurt that one sentence caused, "And then I asked her if she was sure, if anything exciting happened between the two of you."

I braced myself, "And?"

"She said she was positive."

My gaze gravitated towards the floor. I was extremely hurt. To my surprise, water began to gather at the corner of my eyes. I opened them wide, to keep any tears from spilling. I was not known to cry. I hadn't cried since I was a child! I would not let Sakura's stupidity force tears down my cheek!

"So what's that supposed to mean?" I asked Tomoyo after a while, in a harsh voice, "That the kiss meant nothing to her? Well I'll tell you something, Tomoyo, it damn well meant something to me!" There were no longer tears in my eyes. What used to be sadness which filled them entirely was now replaced with anger.

I did not mean to yell at her, and I'm glad she knew that. She patted my back consolingly as I continued to stare at the floor, "It's okay, Syaoran. I know Sakura, I know her more than anyone else. She just needs time. She's in love with you, even I know that. She probably just wants to talk to you about it first. That's probably it,"

"This is so stupid, Tomoyo," I said, a little embarrassed that I almost cried.

Even Tomoyo knew it! Sakura was just nervous. She'll talk to me about it first on the plane, and then we'll come out as the couple we're meant to be. That's it. That just has to be it.

"Thanks. No wonder you're her best friend," I said, a slight smile on my face.

"In my opinion," Tomoyo stated, "I think that men crying is the most manly thing they can do!"

I blushed at her comment. I hated crying. But if it was over Sakura, it was worth it, right? I'd do anything for her, even if it meant crying the tears that I was so reluctant to cry.

Suddenly, we heard footsteps and the movement of a roller suitcase. It could only be one person. After whispering a positive comment in my ear, Tomoyo was on her feet and out the front door. I got up abruptly, staring out after her. I lightly slapped my left cheek once, to snap me out of my nervousness. I could do this!

I turned around. Dressed in jeans, a navy blue shirt and a black jacket over top was Sakura, pulling her roller suitcase along behind her. A pair of black shades covered her eyes, the same ones I'd seen her wearing all too many times. I wondered why, however, thinking that you don't need sunglasses inside.

"Hey, Sakura." I said brightly. My sad mood was practically gone. Confidence was the only thing I was feeling.

She didn't even turn her head to look at me. She only stared straight ahead and walked right passed me, her suitcase rolling along after her. I stood, rooted to the ground, dumbfounded. She'd heard me, hadn't she? I repeated it again, just to make sure, "Hey Sakura." Except this time, in a less cheerful voice.

"Hello," she replied in monotone, still not looking at me.

My sleeping beauty would not get away this easily.

I ran forward and stood before her to block her way. She sighed irritated, "Yes?"

I did not let the confusion show in my face, "Um..." I didn't know what to say, "Is Kero with you?"

"No," she said, "he flew out the window and is with Tomoyo and the others waiting in the car as we speak. Is that all?" She made a movement to go forward. I didn't budge. She sighed again, sounding more annoyed than ever. "Is there something that you need, Syaoran?" This time I didn't care if she saw the frown that appeared on my face.

"Sakura..." I said, "what's the matter with you?"

"Nothing," she replied, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. She made yet another futile attempt to walk passed me.

"I mean it!" I said firmly, "What's wrong with you?"

She dropped the suitcase. The loud noise it made reverberated around the entire mansion. I stood before her, unnerved, "I'm seriously not in the mood to be spoken to right now, so would you do me a favor and get out of my way?" She stared at me, her hands on her hips. She was leaning in slightly towards my face, not romantically, but as if she were ready to pounce.

"I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you." I took her elbow in my hands, and she yanked me off.

"Don't touch me," she warned icily.

"Well you certainly didn't mind last night!" I said angrily, glaring hard at her.

She regained her composure and folded her arms across her chest, "If that's what you wanted to talk about, then say whatever you want. I for one, have no comment."

"How can you say that?" I asked her incredulously, "How can you say that you have 'no comment'?"

"Easy, you open your mouth and let the words form." Sakura replied sarcastically. I used to love her sarcasm, it made me laugh. Now all it did was make me angry.

"You know I didn't mean it like that." I could feel her glaring back at me through her shades, "You're so frustrating!" I exclaimed, sighing in great exasperation, "You have like, multiple personality disorder or something!"

"Meaning what?" She asked harshly.

"You know what I mean!" I screamed. I don't know what happened. It was like something inside me snapped, and all the frustration she caused me over loving her just poured out of my mouth. There was no dam that I was able to build to keep myself from yelling insulting things. I just could not help myself.

"One minute you hate me, the other minute we're friends. In another we're acting like the couple we should be, and in the next one you're back to hating me, except a million times more than before!"

She gave no reply. "I love you." I told her again. She shifted uncomfortably in her spot, "Don't act like you didn't hear me. And don't act like nothing happened the other night. Why would you tell Tomoyo that nothing did? Do you have any idea how much that hurt? God, Sakura, you're so moronic sometimes!"

"Are you finished insulting me?

"Not even." I replied, not caring anymore if I hurt her feelings, "You are the most frustrating, most stupidest girl I've ever met! Right now, I just wish I could hate you! But I don't, okay? There's this weird thing about you that makes me fall harder and faster every time I look at you, and it's just so bloody hard!"

"I don't have to listen to this!" She said, "I don't have to listen to you go on like a mental person, telling me how much you want to hate me, but can't! I don't have to listen to you when you tell me that you're supposedly in love with me!"

"You may not want to, but you're going to." I demanded her. "How can you think that I'm not in love with you? And don't give me some sarcastic crap answer."

"How can you fall in love with me in just a number of months?"

"I don't know! You tell me! You're the one that made me fall for you like this! You're the only girl with the power to make me cry, and you're the only girl that can make me melt with just one bloody glance! If you want to know why I'm in love with you, then ask yourself, because I for one, have no clue!"

We were both breathing heavily, harder than we had last night.

"I love you." I said again. She growled loudly, "I don't care how many times I have to say it to get it through your thick as ever head! I'm bloody in love with you and I know you love me back. Why won't you just admit it?"

She shook her head from side to side, not wanting to let my sentence pass through her ears. "Stop it!" She shrieked.

She turned on her heel and ran up the steps, practically flying past my...mother?

As she ran past my mom heading to only God knows where in the mansion, everything seemed to go in slow motion. The moment that Sakura whizzed past her, my mother's eyes closed tightly together. I didn't know what was happening, but when my mother opened them, an almost fearful look clouded her eyes.

"Son," she said simply, the fearful look going away, "she is disappearing."

"What?" I asked.

"Sakura. She is crying. And she is disappearing." She said it as though it were a programmed sentence, "Apart of her is disappearing."

I sighed and walked up to my mother. I thought I knew what she meant. "No, mom, it's okay. She's not disappearing at all." I hugged her, something I hadn't done in a long time, "She'll come back to visit, after we work things out. Trust me, she'll be back."

She hugged me back, which was a rare thing for her and I to do. Embrace. She sighed. "I guess it's best you don't know."

I looked at her, confused, "What?"

"You'll find out soon," she muttered, more to herself than me, "Son, no matter what you make her feel, you must not let her disappear. Don't let her disappear." She almost said her last sentence pleadingly, but I did not know why she would ever think that Sakura was disappearing. The fact that we had to go back to college did not mean she would lose her forever.

She let go of me, and just for a brief moment treated me like the son that I always wanted her to treat me like. She kissed me on the cheek, wished me a safe flight, and told me she would see me soon. I told her the same, and made my way out the door to wait in the limosine for Sakura.

When she finally came, she did not sit in the back with the rest of us. My sisters and Eriol were seeing us off, so Tomoyo and I occupied the back of the limosine along with them. Instead of taking the one seat left, Sakura chose to sit in the front with Wei, for obvious reasons. Tomoyo began shooting me glances filled with worry.

"It'll be okay," I whispered, not wanting to risk the chances of us being overheard by Sakura, who was only seperated from us by a black screen, "We just had an arguement. You know us, we always fight. It'll be fine."

"Well, things better be," one of my sisters said, "this will not be the first time we fail."

I trusted in their words which made me content, adding to my slowly slipping confidence.

**_xxxxxx_**

We finally arrived at the location of my mother's private airplane. It was the same one Sakura and I took to get to China in the first place. The jet black one with the two violet streaks and the Chinese symbol. Before, it had made Sakura so excited to be able to fly on it, now she seemed less than amused.

We all said our goodbyes to one another. I hugged all four of my sisters, and so did Tomoyo and Sakura. Everything that my sisters whispered into her ear made her jaw clench. I just wish I knew what it was. Tomoyo and Eriol took their goodbye behind the limosine, where they did only God knows what. Yuck.

Wei shook my hand heartily, telling me to come back soon. He bowed to both Sakura and Tomoyo, and kissed their hands for the final time. Tomoyo was the only one out of the two that blushed. Sakura acted as though she hardly even noticed what he did, which angered me. Inside the plane, I knew we would have yet another argument.

Nodding as a silent thank you to the men that took care of our luggage, I watched as Sakura climbed aboard. Tomoyo followed after her. With a shake of the hand and a final wave to Eriol, I was the last to enter. The door was closed, the path was cleared, and sooner than we knew it, the plane was up and in the air.

As soon as we were given notice that we were allowed to walk among the plane, I took just a tiny glance outside a window. China was below me, and so were all the people that wished Sakura and I would be together. I prayed silently, thinking that being near the heavens would somehow strengthen my prayer.

Please, I'm begging. Let something good come out of the argument that I know Sakura and I are going to have!

With one last glance at the ground beneath me, I sighed and walked as confidently as I could towards Sakura and Tomoyo. Sakura pretended that I wasn't there, as she continued to listen to the music that was coming out of her headphones. I gave Tomoyo a warning look, telling her through my eyes that she probably wouldn't want to witness what was about to happen.

"Er, excuse me. Bathroom break," she said hurriedly, sprinting to the bathroom.

Sakura looked up to watch her leave. When Tomoyo was no longer in sight, she looked at me, and closed her eyes, still pretending to listen to music.

"You and I need to talk." I said simply.

She did not reply.

"Stop acting like you can't hear me Sakura, you've tried that trick one too many times." I said harshly.

Her eyes fluttered open to a glare, as she stared me down with almost hateful eyes. She ripped off the headphones and sat up straight, so that she was no longer leaning against the comfy chair, "There is nothing to talk about." She replied, getting up to sit down in a different seat that was no where near me. I followed.

"Like hell there isn't," I said, "why don't you just admit it? Everyone knows it! You're in love with me."

"You wish," she replied simply, though she did not know that that one statement caused my heart to break completely.

"That meaning what?" I tried not to let the pain show in my face.

"Meaning I don't love you!" She shrieked, turning around so that she was not looking at me.

"That's bull and you know it."

She whipped around, looking at me with empty emerald eyes. Her fists were rolled into tight fists, so tightly that her knuckles were white. Her jaw was clenched, and though her entire body seemed tense, it looked to me like she was shaking. She opened her mouth to insult me with the words she knew felt like a bullet to my chest.

"Stop acting like you know everything about me. Stop thinking you know that I'm in love with you, because I'm not. I never was, never will be. So just do me a favor, and leave me alone, will you? If insulting me is just a stupid plan of yours to get me to fall head over heels in love with you, it's not working. Nothing will."

With her bare hands, she took my heart and pasted it back together, and broke it again. This time into smaller, tinier pieces which could not be placed together again.

"Say it again." I said quietly, after a long, uncomfortable silence.

"You heard me, Syaoran." She replied.

"Say it again!" I said loudly, not caring of anyone heard, "Say it to me again. Tell me that you're not in love with me just once more, so that maybe I can actually believe you this time." She made no effort to reply, "What are you waiting for, huh? Is it as painful for you to say as it is for me to hear? Is it?"

"Fine," I heard her say, as though she were from somewhere far, far away, "I don't love you."

"Liar." I hissed.

"I don't care if you don't believe me. I just don't want to keep having the same conversation with you over and over again. So just, please, Syaoran! Get it through your thick head that I am not in love with you, and I never will be!"

My knees felt weak, as if I could barely stand. I held onto the nearest solid object that was within reaching distance and held on tightly, knowing that if I let go, I'd collapse. I stared at the floor. I did not believe her, I refused to believe her. She couldn't lie to me when she gave me such a passionate kiss the other night.

"I don't believe you," I stated.

"Let it go, Syaoran." She whispered, walking away.

It took a moment for me to reply, "It's so evident that you love me back. If you didn't, then you never would've kissed me the way you did last night." She stopped, in mid step. "You know you can't avoid this or me, Sakura. I don't care if I have to barricade the dorm room door so that neither of us can get out. We're sorting this out, until you can finally admit to me that you really do love me."

"Which is why..." she said quietly, her whole body tensing, "I'm moving out."

I felt all the colour drain from my face, "You're what?"

"I don't care where I have to sleep, I don't care where I have to go. I can't be around you. Not when you're like this."

**_xxxxxx_**

She avoided me, the next three hours on the plane, by sleeping. In turn, I avoided her by staring out the window, pretending to be interested in the fluffy white clouds which difted passed us, as though there was not a single care in the world.

I felt bad for Tomoyo, having to put up with the tension between us. After she came back from the bathroom, she only arrived to see the both of us sitting far, far away from each other on opposite ends of the plane. I knew she heard most of our conversation, so I knew it must've been hard for her to try and act cool around us, as though she didn't hear a thing.

When we landed, Sakura woke up with a grunt. Kero poked his head out from her purse, a drowsy look on his face. I was thankful that even he could not be woken up from our loud as ever conversation.

"We're finally here!" Tomoyo said happily, getting up to stretch. I smiled weakly, getting my luggage from the top bin. I took Tomoyo's, and she thanked me with a warm grin. I also took Sakura's and she snatched it out of my hands, glaring at me still. I glared after her in return as we all climbed off of the plane.

We all said thank you to the stuardists and the pilots and went inside the airport. According to Tomoyo, she had to use the bathroom. Once having stepped inside, we became apart of all the noise and loudness of the airport. With our roller suitcases trotting along behind us, we came to a stop infront of the women's rest room. Tomoyo went inside, and to my disappointment, Sakura did too.

I didn't want to keep arguing with her, but if that's what it took for her to realize that she really did love me, than that's what I would do.

I just couldn't understand why she would not admit it. If you could have just felt the way she kissed me the other night, and if you could feel the way her fingers held tightly onto my scalp, as if she never wanted to stop, than you would know that she was in love with me, too. Not only was it that, but it was also in the way she looked at me. Before now, I realized that it was only I that was given the opportunity to be looked at with such loving eyes. Not Tomoyo, her dad, or Touya - but me.

As I gazed boredly around my surroundings to try and sort out my thoughts, I realized how much familiar faces there were inside the airport. I seemed to have forgotten that it wasn't just Sakura, Tomoyo and I to have come back from our Spring Break vacations. Some of my classmates and even professors were seen walking about.

Some were even able to recognize me, and waved back at me with a smile. I always returned the gesture, though I certainly did not feel like it.

When the girls finally came out, I realized that neither Tomoyo or Sakura were speaking to each other. It was evident to see that they had quite the serious conversation. I scolded myself, saying that this was me and Sakura's problem, it shouldn't have to cause problems between her and Tomoyo. I would not let our arguments somehow distress Tomoyo. Afterall, she was only trying to help.

"Hey," I hissed, grabbing Sakura's elbow. Tomoyo only continued to walk forward, which was a sign that told both of us that she was very angry, "this whole thing going on is between you and me, not you and her, got that? Tomoyo's only trying to talk some sense into you, since evidently, I'm not doing much of a great job."

She ripped her elbow out of my grasp, "She started it! I told her to leave the matter alone."

"It was about us then, wasn't it? Your argument."

"Firstly, there is no 'us.' Secondly, so what if it was? Thirdly, it's not my fault," she huffed, "I told her to leave it alone, but she didn't."

"Why are you acting like this? You may be acting like a total jerk to me, but that's because I half deserve it. Tomoyo on the other hand, your best friend, might I remind you, is only trying to help."

"I didn't ask for it, did I?" She asked coldly.

She turned away from me and began to follow after Tomoyo, not so that she could apologize, but so that she could get away from me. With a frustrated sigh, I took hold of her elbow once more and did not let go. I dragged her over to a secluded corner of the airport where I knew no one was able to see, and decided that we would continue our argument there.

"Listen," I said, "don't treat Tomoyo like this. She's your best friend!"

She squirmed in my arms, "I don't need you to remind me of that! Let me go!"

"If I don't need to remind you, then stop being a jerk to her!"

"You don't tell me what to do!" She continued to wriggle consistantly.

I tightened my hold around her, "Listen, I'm sorry, okay?" My calm voice seemed to somehow tame her, because she suddenly stopped thrashing about, and decided to listen to me speak, "I know I'm coming on too strong, but that's what I've been meaning to do to try and get you to admit that you love me."

She sighed, "For the last time, Syaoran, I dont - "

"I don't care, Sakura," I interrupted, "no matter what you say, I know you well enough to know that you would never kiss me like that unless you really loved me. You wouldn't look at me the way you do if you didn't love me." Taking her silence as permission, I hugged her, loosening my hold on her just a little.

I continued, surprised that she did not push me off, "No matter how many times you say you don't love me..." I whispered into her ear, "no matter how many times it breaks my heart to hear you say that...it won't ever change how I feel about you. So just please try to accept it. I love you."

Just for the briefest of moments, she leaned in to my hug, letting the palms of her hands rest lightly against my chest. And then, with a jerk, she pushed me off with all the strength she had. She stared at me, as though horrified. For whatever reason, she held her left hand behind her back and pulled the jacket sleeve over top of it so that it was covering her hand comletely.

She threw me her purse, and Kero looked up at the both of us angrily. "Hey, I was sleeping!"

We ignored him. "Please.." she begged, "don't say that anymore!"

She turned on her heel and ran off like a bullet to some other part of the airport. Before running after her, I caught up to Tomoyo, who knew something went really, really wrong. I gave her the purse, so that Kero would not be able to witness our conversation when I finally caught up to Sakura. I turned around to try and find her, but then she'd already gone.

She was no longer in my sight.

**_xxxxxx_**

**Sakura -**

I did not care who was in my way. I ran and pushed passed whoever I needed to, in order to make it to the most secluded place there was - the airport back alley. With the tears streaming freely down my my cheeks, and my hand still covered with my sleeve, I whizzed right passed everybody - even a few of my college classmates.

Just for a moment, as I was running, I thought I felt someone try to grab me. But I was sprinting too fast for whoever it was to keep a steady grasp on me. And anyway, did it really look like I felt like speaking to anybody? Honestly, who would be rude enough to try and speak to an obviously upset out of her mind girl?

Oh yeah, Duncan.

When I finally made it to the dark and dingy surroundings of the airport back alley, I continued to flicker there. To my surprise, though the flickering stopped, I was still able to cry. I guess the flicker was just weird like that. I didn't even really care, all I was concentrated on doing was crying. Crying over the boy that I refused to love.

"Aww, what's this, is my poor Sakura sad?" Someone asked. I looked up to find the person that I least wanted to see. No, not Syaoran, Duncan. He was leaning, just a few feet away from me against the alley wall. I straightened up, a fierce look on my face. He smirked, probably thinking that the way I looked at him was some sort of sex invitation. What a moron.

"Piss off, Duncan. I'm not in the mood." I said. He had no idea how much that was true. If he pulled anything, I could not fight back. So much energy was taken emotionally from flickering, and plus, I'd just sprinted to one of the furthest parts of the airport! I did not feel like defending myself, nor did I feel like running.

"You see, Sakura, my dearest, I don't care." Duncan replied slyly.

He sauntered towards me, and, because my legs were not in great shape at the moment, I could not move as fast as I wanted to when he sprinted the last few feet towards me, pushing me harshly against the alley wall. My head banged against the hard brick, making me cry out in minor pain.

"I'm sorry, my sweet, did that hurt?" He asked, not sounding concerned.

"Don't ever call me that," I warned, thrashing as much as I could. But I just couldn't. All the strength I had in me was gone. I reached for my staff, hoping that I could manage to scare him away by performing some good old magic, but he took both my arms in his and pinned them above my head. My legs were immobile, as they felt like complete jelly.

Just as I was about to scream, his lips made awful contact with mine. I made a noise that could only be made from deep within my throat, because I was not able to scream or yell or say anything with his mouth crushing my own. I didn't dare kiss back. No matter how badly it pissed him off, I would never kiss him back.

"I told you you'd pay, Sakura." He hissed evilly, only breaking contact with my lips for a moment.

I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't care if I had to plead, I wanted him and his grimy lips off of me. Only one person could ever do this to me, I thought. Only one person. And Syaoran's face came into my mind. Within that one second that Duncan's lips were not on top of mine, I turned my head to the side, so that I could avoid them.

He still went in for a kiss, this time not sucking disgustingly on my lips, but on my neck. It felt disgusting. I screamed, as loudly as I could. But it was impossible for anybody to hear, I knew that. We were in the frigging back alley of the airport! No one ever went back there! But I still had to try.

"Help!" I screamed, as I beat my fists against his chest, "Somebody, help me!"

The tears continued to roll down my cheeks. The pain it felt to be kissed by someone other than Syaoran...it was horrible.

"Please!" I choked out, suddenly remembering how Syaoran had found me, the last time I was in a situation like this, "_Syaoran!_ Help me!"

**_xxxxxx_**

**Syaoran -**

Sakura. Sakura was in danger. I felt it. Her aura reached me like the liquid which erupted from a volcano. I was feeling the pain that she was feeling, but I did not know who or what was causing it. Whatever it was, I knew, would not live to see the light of day ever again. Not on my watch, anyway.

"Tomoyo, stay put." I said, the worry shown on my face.

"What's happened?" She knew that something was horribly wrong.

"Sakura. She's in danger." I answered bluntly, running in the direction of her aura.

"Let me come, too!" Tomoyo pleaded.

"No, the last thing I need is for you to be in danger, too. Find her car, and get ready to drive. I'll be calling you soon," I said, fully armed with my cell phone. Tomoyo agreed obediently and sprinted off into another direction of the airport. At least she was safe, I knew. Now I needed to focus on Sakura.

"Where are you?" I whispered, as I continued to sprint. With every step I took, her aura grew stronger. I knew I must've been going the right way. It took me all my strength to keep going. To be feeling an aura as strong as the one that I was feeling right now almost made it impossible for me to stand straight. It was so overwhelming.

"Sakura!" I screamed, coming to a secluded area of the airport. It was the back alley, I noticed. It was covered in dirt, and it reeked of rotting garbage. But it was where Sakura was. Her aura was stronger than ever.

And then I heard a faint whisper of my name. "Syaoran..." I heard.

"Sakura!" I yelled once more, running like my life depended on it. I finally came to a stop, only to find Sakura, the girl of my dreams, in the arms of Duncan, the man that I now despised more than anything else in the world. "You!" I said, shoving him off of her, "Keep the hell away from her!"

Upon his face was not the look of anger that I was expecting. Instead, it was clouded with fear. He was not staring at me, but at Sakura's crumpled figure on the dirty alley floor. I bent down to her level to see if she was alright, and through what I was seeing, she certainly was not. My eyes widened in fear and my eyes took the shape of two large coins.

"I...I only..." Duncan spluttered, struggling to get onto his feet, "I only kissed her, I..."

I suddenly remembered that he was there. Standing up, I decided that before I took care of Sakura, I would have to beat the crap out of him. And so I did. I swung an angry fist at his eye, and made contact with my target, "Don't fucking touch her ever again!" I yelled, punching him again and again.

"Alright, alright!" He whimpered, getting to his feet and running away, "Just...just keep her away from me! It...it wasn't my fault, man!" With a bloody face, he scrambled away from the both of us, leaving Sakura and I alone together.

"Sakura..." I whispered, not knowing what to do. She was...disappearing! Her entire body! Have you ever had a bad TV connection, when sometimes the picture on the screen would get kind of fuzzy and screwed up, and go in and out of your vision? That was exactly what was happening to Sakura. I didn't have a word for it...she was...flickering!

"S - S - Syaoran..." she said, shivering.

"W - w - what is going on? What is...why are you..." I could not finish my sentence.

She was still crying, harder than I'd ever seen her cry. Harder than anyone else had ever seen her cry, I was sure. "P - p - please! N - n - no!" She sobbed, curling into an even tighter ball on the ground, "Th - th - this wasn't supposed to happen! Oh God, no!" What was she talking about? Did she...did she know that this was going to happen to her?

Not knowing what else to do, I flipped open my cell phone and furiously dialed in Sakura's cell phone number, which I knew Tomoyo had. As quickly as I could, I told her to meet Sakura and I in the back alley. Tomoyo must've been really worried, because in only three minutes, she arrived.

Scooping the still shaking Sakura in my arms, I carried her into the car.

"Oh my God!" Tomoyo gasped, "What's the matter with her? What happened?"

"I - I don't know! I..." I was still shocked, "Kero! What's wrong with her?"

"Dear God," he said, "Sakura!" He screamed, "Sakura, please, tell us what's wrong!"

She continued to sob as Tomoyo pulled out of the alley and drove back to the college. "No, no, no!" She kept on saying, "No, I can't tell you! This wasn't supposed to happen! This is horrible, oh God, this is horrible!" I held her in my arms, rubbing comforting circles onto her back. Unlike before, it didn't seem to be helping.

The flickering, or whatever you called it, had finally stopped. But Sakura continued to cry and say the same things over and over, "No, no, no! Oh God, this wasn't supposed to happen!"

When we finally arrived at the college, I had instructed Sakura to keep quiet, or everybody would get suspicious. She immediately did as she was told, and took on a phony sleep, so that when I carried her into the building and inside our dorm room people would only think that she fell fast asleep on the plane.

After making it inside the dorm room, Kero immediately transformed. Sakura began to wail again, and everything just seemed to be in complete and utter chaos.

"Tomoyo, please leave," I asked.

"What?" She shrieked, "But why? I can't! Sakura is - "

"Sakura is fine. Kero and I will figure something out. You have to remember that you're the only person here without magical powers, so it might be dangerous if you stay! Go back to your dorm. The minute anything happens, I swear on our friendship, I'll tell you as soon as I can." Without waiting for a reply, I shoved her out of the room and locked the door.

I walked over to Sakura, who was lying on her bed, crying still.

"Please don't cry, Sakura. Everything will be okay." I said, but I really didn't know that.

"No, no, things won't ever be okay! Never!" She got up from her bed and made for the door. I blocked her way.

"You're not going anywhere! We need to find out what's going on with you!"

"Cerberus, please!" She pleaded, turning to him. He showed no sign of sympathy towards her.

"Sakura," he began quietly, "I agree with Syaoran. We can't let you leave. We have to find out what exactly happened back there." She cried in anger and attempted to push me out of the way, "Sakura!" He screamed, over the loud noise that she was making. I tried my hardest to restrain her, "You need to stop! This could be potentially life threatening!"

Sakura could not stop moving. She tried everything she had in mind that could possibly get me out of her way, but none worked. It was actually starting to get pretty tiring, holding her back. As much as I hated doing so, I tripped her, so that she was lying on her back, on the floor beneath us.

"Get off!" She screamed. I was straddling her, forcing all my weight on top of her so that she was unable to do anything. I hated what I was doing to her, but I had to.

"You will be silenced." Cerberus said, walking on all of his four legs towards us. He placed a single paw on Sakura's forehead and closed his eyes. Suddenly, because of Cerberus' doing, Sakura stopped thrashing. Her arms fell limply to her sides, and her eyelids folded so that they were closed. I could hardly tell if she was breathing.

I got off of her, horrified, "What did you do?" I asked.

"A simple unconsciousness charm Clow Reed taught me." He answered calmly.

"For...for how long?" I asked.

Staring at me for only God knows how long, with golden eyes which resembled the burning sun, Cerberus answered, "For as long as it takes to find out what is wrong with my Mistress."

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**Don't worry, they will, kiddies! Read and Review :)**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - My _life as a secret agent!_ xD


	19. A Truth Exposed

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. But the plot (which most of you guys are catching up on ;D) is mine, and that's it.

"..." - talking  
_italic font -_ thoughts/exaggerated words  
**bold font -** point of view

Now...on with chapter nineteen!

**A Truth Exposed**

**Syaoran -**

"What do we have to do?" I asked, in a hoarse whisper barely even audible. I scooped Sakura into my arms and propped her up on a chair. I hugged her with all my might, the worry and sadness visibly appearing in my eyes. I knew that this flickering, whatever it was, might cause an early end for Sakura. And I could not let that happen.

"Please, Cerberus..." I begged, hugging her body closer. I could hear her heartbeat. "Anything we have to do, I'll do it. How do we make this flickering go away?"

Crouched before me was the Guardian Beast of the Seal. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to have a calm expression on his face. My temper began to bubble and sizzle as he continued to look to me as though he were sleeping. Angrily, I let go of Sakura, "How can you be so calm at a time like this?"

"Quiet," he instructed, raising a single paw to silence me, "I am thinking."

I sat back down and took Sakura's hand in mine. I waited impatiently for him to finally speak. It must've been an entire minute that passed when he finally broke the silence, "I can only think of one thing that we could possibly do." I stood up abruptly, ready to do whatever it was he had in mind, "But it'll be dangerous."

"I don't care," I answered immediately, "what do we have to do? What do we have to do to make this go away?"

Cerberus let out a tired, frustrated sigh before explaning. "Listen well," he said.

I nodded, "I will."

"The only thing that I could possibly think of doing is..."

I waited.

"Going back inside her memories."

I gasped. Going back inside her memories? I could only imagine how physically and emotionally draining that really was. It would take a lot of magical powers to do such a thing. I would be lucky to still be able to stand once, or if we ever, came back from her memories. I tried to think if a simpler way.

"You're kidding." I said.

"Does it look like I'm in the mood for jokes?" Cerberus replied.

"But...but..." I spluttered, "can't we use the Return Card?"

"That's impossible." he answered, shoving another chair towards Sakura so that it was facing her. He beckoned for me to sit down in it, but I refused to do so. I wanted to listen. "The cards are obligated to follow Sakura's instructions, and her instructions only. No matter what state of being she may be in, they will only listen to her."

"So then..." I said, "there really is no other choice?"

"I'm afraid not."

I stared at Sakura. Her beautiful green eyes were at the moment closed. I would never be able to sleep at night if for whatever reason she could never open them again. The flicker, Cerberus and I both knew, was something that could possibly cause that. "Then I'll do it." I managed to say, "But I'm unfamiliar with the procedure."

"It's simple...in the beginning." He said. He beckoned for me to sit down in the chair that was facing Sakura. "Sit," he instructed. I did as I was told.

"Now what?" I asked.

"I need you to put your hand on her heart." He told me.

Slowly, I raised my arm, and placed it lightly against her breast. It did not feel weird at all. Instead, it made me feel closer to Sakura, both emotionally and physically, than I'd ever felt with her before. I smiled, feeling the faint beating of her heart. I just wanted it to keep on beating. Anything to keep it moving.

"Never," Cerberus said firmly, "you are to never let go of her. No matter what happens when we are traveling through her memories, it is crucial that you are not to let go. Neither of us can let go of any of each other. For if we do, we break the connection. If the connection is broken, we may never be able to get back to the present. Is that clear?"

I nodded numbly.

"You must also understand that since Yue, her other guardian, is not here, this will take up a lot of our magical powers. You are just extremely lucky that you are a direct descendant of Clow Reed himself, and that I am a direct creation of his. This will hopefully help us in our journey through her memories."

"Will she be safe?" I asked.

"She is the one providing the memories, of course she will be safe," the tiger like creature explained, "I would never do this if it could possibly endanger her life any further." He added quietly at the end.

Closing his eyes tightly, he murmured a spell of some sort underneath his breath. The entire room glowed bright silver for just a moment, and then went back to normal. I looked up at him, confused with what he had just done, "What was that all about?" I asked.

"That was a sound proof charm." He said, "So that no one will hear us."

We remained silent for the next few seconds. I then heard Cerberus clear his throat, and take a few steps so that he was directly behind me. He stretched out a yellow fur covered arm and placed it on my shoulder. My body stiffened. In just a few minutes I'd be traveling through Sakura's memories...

"Are you ready?" he asked.

I nodded, not able to find my voice.

I didn't know what was going on. In one minute, Cerberus was muttering some sort of incantation, using a voice which came from deep within his throat. I did not understand what any of it meant, but within seconds, a large gust of wind formed in the room. Papers flew everywhere, the curtains rattled. I could barely hear Cerberus' voice over the commotion.

I told myself over and over again in my head to not break the connection. Break the connection and you lose Sakura forever. It was getting harder and harder to do this every time. The wind continued to blow as hardly as ever, forcing me to sit on the very edge of my chair. I pressed my palm harder against Sakura's chest.

With each passing second, Sakura's heart beat faster and faster. Faster than normal, I noticed. This wasn't safe. "Cerberus!" I screamed, "Her heart!"

"Do - not - let - go!" Was all he yelled back.

"But...!" I tried again, "Her heart! Sakura's heart is not beating normally!"

I heard him grunt. "Do not lose contact with her!" Was the last thing he said to me, before a sudden force came out of nowhere and we disappeared brutally, and painfully into the thin air. It felt like we were swirling, swirling clouds that were part of a thunderstorm. I closed my eyes, fearful that I would vomit.

Though I could not see anything, I could clearly hear everything, even through the enormous wind that was still blowing. I could hear a little girl's voice at first, screaming things like, "Papa, Tomoyo, big brother!" I could tell that we were traveling through Sakura's earlier memories as a child.

Another rush of sound could be heard. I could hear the faint crying of a baby, and the soothing voice of a young woman. "My beautiful baby..." The young woman said hoarsely. I opened my eyes for just a brief moment to see who the mysterious voice belonged to. I closed them immediately after I saw a lock of glistening green hair. It was of course, Sakura's mother.

I remembered how she had died. Giving birth. That must've been her mother in her last moments of life...I was amazed that Sakura was able to remember this. I couldn't remember a single thing that happened to me when I was at that stage of life. But it was an important memory, so I could see why the memory was etched into her brain.

The next few moments were filled with noises such as laughter, crying, screams of joy and of fear. Sakura's childhood, I could now tell, had been filled with great moments, and some not as great. Soon, out of no where, a high pitched screaming filled my ears. I gasped, thinking that this was just all too loud.

And then suddenly, Sakura's heart had stopped beating completely.

I sat up straight in the chair, my hand still glued to Sakura's chest, and Cerberus' paw still clenched onto my shoulder. "Her heart!" I screamed for what seemed like the millionth time, "Cerberus, Sakura's heart stopped beating!"

My voice echoed through a vast amount of darkness. I did not know where I was, and neither did Cerberus.

"Never!" I suddenly heard. I flicked my head into the direction of the sound. Standing only a few feet away from Cerberus and I was Sakura. A shorter, different version of Sakura. She was only, from what I could tell, a mere seventh grader. "I will never let you take my cards away from me, Mikoro!"

Realization suddenly hit me. This memory was of Sakura, and the final battle for the cards against Mikoro. Of course! It was said that after this battle, Sakura began to act differently. After this battle, Sakura's aura would have changed from bright pink to misty silver.

Mikoro, a hooded figure with bony fingers stretched out a lanky arm towards Sakura's twelve year old self. Suddenly, she plucked out a card from her pocket and said the following words, "You know what to do." She glared at the man before her, eyes filled with hatred and loathing. I'd never seen this type of fire in them before.

"Just a moment, Kinomoto..." Mikoro said. His voice, was just as I had expected it to be. Deep, breathy, and rather unnerving, "Would you kindly wait for just a few minutes?" He asked, in mock politeness. I saw, who I will now call, memory Sakura, grip her pink staff tighter.

"Trying to save yourself from early destruction?" She asked bitterly.

"My dear, Kinomoto," he said, "do you really think you can defeat me?"

"I know so!" She yelled, preparing to attack, "I love these cards. I know they love me, too. I'll do anything for them and I know they'll do anything for me. So trust me, old man, if I tell them to destroy you they most certainly can and will!" She threw what I now knew was the Light Card straight into the air.

The card span quickly in the air, awaiting its allowance to attack. "Are you sure about that?" Mikoro asked.

Sakura did not answer. Instead, she screamed, "Light!" And the entire place turned bright, almost blinding me. I covered my eyes with my free hand, taking in a fistful of (who I'll start calling right now) the real Sakura's shirt with my other hand. When the sudden illumination had disappeared, I could clearly see what it had done to Sakura's antagonist.

I then understood that Mikoro was everything dark, everything evil. By illuminating the entire vast space with such brightness and filling it with the love she felt for the cards, she caused him to fall flat onto his knees, breathing heavily with the most distorted look on his face. However, Cerberus and I both realized that he was smirking.

"What's with that crooked smile?" Sakura asked, sweating just a little bit, "Glad to see that I've finally defeated you?"

"That..." Mikoro said, taking in huge gulps of air, as if he were a fish on dry land, "was a big mistake, Miss Kinomoto..."

With all the strength he had left within him, the evil man stood up, causing the surprised look which was on Sakura's face. She took an immediate step backwards, unsure of what he was about to do.

"Mikoro..." she gasped.

Suddenly, he stretched out his arm, palm facing upwards so that it almost looked like he was lifting something. And then I realized, he wasn't lifting something, but rather someone. He had lifted Sakura. She rose up into the air, held up by Mikoro's dark magic. She wiggled her feet, trying to make contact with the ground.

"You shall regret ever defeating me, Miss Kinomoto," he said angrily.

Out of no where, the real Sakura sat bolt up straight in her chair, her empty green eyes wide open. Her entire body went rigid, and her heart started beating once more, at an abnormally fast pace. However, I kept quiet, for I had nothing in mind to say.

"I place in you, Miss Kinomoto..." he said, "_a stranger_..."

Out from before the memory Sakura, who was still suspended in the air, flew out another version of Sakura. I gasped. Three Sakura's! The real Sakura, the memory Sakura, and the transparent Sakura. Reasons behind the name of the third Sakura were obvious - she was transparent - you could see right through her body. She looked exactly like the real one, except, she was smiling in such an evil manner, it scared me.

"You say you love your cards, Kinomoto?" Mikoro spat, his arm still in the air. His entire body was shaking though, and it looked like his knees were about to give way. "Well, you can't show them!" He yelled, pulling another one of his evil magic tricks.

Suddenly appearing before the transparent Sakura was a look alike version of her heart. It was red, and beating normally, unlike the one that I could still feel. It was still beating faster and faster with each passing moment.

Mikoro then made a squeezing gesture with his hand. The other version of Sakura's heart turned to ice, and changed black. The real Sakura made a choking noise.

"If," the evil man began, dropping to his knees, unable to stand up anymore, "you are to ever feel happiness, sadness, hatred, jealousy, anger, excitement, fear, worry, pain, surprise, sympathy, relief, or frustration strongly, than you will...oh, what's the word I'm looking for?" He teased, _"Flicker_."

At the end of his sentence, the transparent Sakura and the other version of her heart entered her body all at once. Memory Sakura fell to her knees, staring at the ground.

"You..." memory Sakura choked, "You can't - take away - " tears formed in her eyes, "my emotions!"

"Oh my dear, I just did." He said, "And, I must warn you my dear, every time you flicker, the more chances you are giving the stranger I planted within you the privilege to live on the surface. And if the stranger were to ever live on the surface, you will just simply...now, what are the proper words? _Fade from existence_..."

"This stranger, Miss Kinomoto, is the purest of evil. And if I were you, I wouldn't trust someone as evil as the stranger with your precious cards. Would you, Sakura, dear? Afterall...they will obey to you no matter what, am I not correct?" His hurtful words caused more tears to form.

"You won't get away this. Cerberus and Yue will find a cure." She countered.

"Oh, thank you for reminding me," Mikoro continued in a hoarse whisper. His life was soon coming to an end. But he would leave this world cursing Sakura. "The finding or telling of anyone or anything of the flicker will automatically allow the stranger to live on the surface. But, Kinomoto, I am not that cruel..."

Memory Sakura bit her lip.

"It will not matter if one person finds out about this curse. But, let's say, lucky number six. If six people were to ever find out, it would only take one more flickering situation, and then the stranger will be able to live on the surface."

"You can't..." memory Sakura whispered.

"But I did." Mikoro said, "So it's either you choose to never show any emotions ever again and keep the world safe from the chaos that the stranger would create, or you give in, and disappear from the face of the planet. Like..." he croaked, "I am right now."

He was correct. Right before my eyes, his body also began to flicker. In just ten more seconds, his entire body vanished from sight, never to be seen again. And although this should've been a joyous moment, because of the fact that it was the very moment when Sakura finally gained full control of the cards, it was not.

"No..." she whimpered, clutching her staff with all her might, "this can't be happening, this can't be happening!" She repeated. But then, I witnessed with my very own eyes, the first ever flicker. Memory Sakura gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "Oh no..." she said, "it's already begun!"

She got onto her feet and began to run. "Never show my feelings, never show my feelings..." she whispered, sprinting away from Cerberus and me. My heart softened, now knowing why Sakura was never able to admit that she loved me. It was as if somebody had dropped an anchor on my shoulders. What had I done? I could only imagine how many times I'd made her flicker. If that stranger were to ever surface, it would be my entire fault!

I had to help Sakura - there was a cure, I just knew it! Together, Sakura and I would get rid of this, and then we could finally be able to be together.

"Sakura!" I yelled, "Sakura, wait!" I got up from my seat, ready to chase after her memory, completely forgetting about what Cerberus told me. But then everything started to fade, everything started becoming white...

"No!" Cerberus screeched, digging his nails into my shoulder, "You mustn't!" Luckily, I had not lost contact with the real Sakura's heart.

Once again, for the final time, Cerberus, Sakura and I were all sucked into thin air. We were racing past all her memories, and I was fighting the urge to vomit. I could feel all the strength leaving my limbs, and I felt Cerberus trying hard not to let go of my shoulder. We were both getting weaker by the moment.

We arrived back at the dorm quicker than I had expected. The minute I'd felt the chairs make contact with solid ground, I fell to the floor, coughing and taking in every breath of air I could. Cerberus crouched beside me, breathing heavily and trying to gain his composure. Sakura was still slumped in the chair.

Forgetting about everything, and ignoring the sharp pain in my side, I went over to Sakura and started shaking her. "Sakura!" I said, "Sakura, please wake up!" I turned to Cerberus, "Wake her up right now!" I demanded.

He muttered something underneath his raspy breath and her eyes fluttered open. "What...what happened?" She asked, sitting up straight. "Why did Kero transform?" She asked me, a serious look in her eyes, "Syaoran, why are you looking at me like that?" Her breathing quickened, "What is going on?"

"Sakura, calm down, we know what happened," I explained. I told her everything that had just happened, how we'd traveled through her memories.

Although I expected her to feel relieved, as though a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, she did not. Instead, she looked at me with disbelieving eyes. "You shouldn't have done that." She whispered, "You shouldn't have done that! Do you know what will happen now? Are the both of you completely insane?"

She raced out of the room, leaving Cerberus and I behind. It only took me a half a second to realize that I had to go after her. We had to handle this together, because I knew that if we did, we could fight this. So, I made for the door, but I was halted by Cerberus' loud voice, telling me to stop.

"Don't go after her!" He said, still breathing quite heavily. I understood why he was so tired, because afterall, he was the main source of magic which helped us travel through her memories. "Did you not learn anything? If you cause her to feel any - "

"Cerberus, I'm sorry, but you have to understand that I have to do this! I have to help her!" I walked over to him and released my aura. The overwhelming feeling knocked him out, just as I wanted it to do. After locking the door behind me so that no one would walk in on an unconscious tiger, I tore after Sakura, ready to do whatever it was that I had to do.

I found her, sitting alone on the rim of the cupid fountain. The very cupid fountain which helped me find my way to her and the dorm room - the fountain that I had always found so comforting. But now, it did not do a thing to comfort me. Only Sakura could help me now, and I knew that it worked vice versa, too.

"Sakura!" I screamed, just as it started to rain. Tiny droplets of water stained the concrete ground and both of our clothes. It began pounding harder and harder and in only a few seconds I was near to completely drenched, "Don't run away!" I screamed, over the loud noise of the rain. "Please, I can help you!"

"Stay away!" She screamed, getting up and running once more.

Although I knew this was a bad idea because I was already so tired, I sprinted my heart out to catch up with her. I took her by the elbow and spun her around so that she was facing me. Beads of water rolled off the tips of our bangs as I held her in my arms tightly, and as she stared at me with her emerald eyes.

"You can't do this alone!" I yelled, hoping she would hear me over all the noise. "Let me help you!"

"Let go!" She pleaded, trying to wriggle free.

I knew I shouldn't have done this. But like the first time it happened, I didn't know what else to do - I just kissed her! The last time I kissed her, she became herself. She showed her true colours by taking me and kissing me back. I thought that maybe after the kiss she would act like herself again, and fight to stay that way.

But she didn't.

Instead, she ripped herself apart from me and slapped me hard on the face. The only type of pain I felt was the pain of rejection.

Sakura stared at me with fearful eyes. As we stared back at each other, afraid of what both of us had just done, the rain slapped harder and louder onto the concrete ground. But the noise began to disappear, and our ears were filled with an eerie silence. We were left alone, trapped in a dome of tension which we knew we could not escape...

And as the clouds loomed overhead, and as our surroundings grew dark and disturbing, so did her eyes...

-

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**We're almost at an end, you guys...read and review!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 - _My life as a secret agent!_ xD


	20. The Emancipation

_Agent08 Reporting for Duty!_

Disclaimer: Aww, last disclaimer of the whole entire thing, guys! Remember, I don't own CCS and never will. The definition used in this chapter is also from the American Heritage Dictionary Fourth Edition. Copyrighted year 2000 by the Houghton Mifflin Company. :D

"..." - talking  
_italic font_ - thoughts/exaggerated words  
**bold font** - point of view

Now...on with the final chapter!

**The Emancipation**

_To Emancipate: _

To free from bondage, oppression, or restraint; liberate.

**Syaoran **-

Thunder clapped around us - this truly was a heavy storm. But we could not feel the water any longer. We couldn't even hear the noise that vibrated around us - we were trapped in that dome of tension and obscurity which hung around us, making me feel disturbed to a point of screaming out loud.

I did not know why Sakura's eyes were growing dark. I did not know why they seemed so empty to me in that moment than in any other moment before. Something was happening, that was obvious - but what? Surely it couldn't be that the "stranger," as Mikoro had called it, was surfacing? It wasn't possible! Only Kero, Tomoyo, Duncan and I knew! Four people, which hardly made it six!

And then suddenly, something in the back of my head which contained all of my memories burst open, flooding my mind with things that had only just occurred to me right at that very moment. I started hearing voices, voices which told me that the worst was about to happen - everything just started to click...

_"I...I...Dude, it wasn't me, I swear! Her stomach! Her stomach! Her fucking stomach! Dude! Look at it!"_

Hiro, the jerk that slipped her drink from the party Mei had held saw the flicker. He was obsessing about her stomach, saying that something was wrong. I felt it in Sakura's aura that night that she'd been feeling so much anger, worry, and sadness. That was three off of the long list of emotions Mikoro said she could not feel!

And then back at the mansion, just a few hours ago...my mother had seen. My mother had sensed the flicker.

_"Son, she is disappearing...she is crying. And she is disappearing."_

Of course! Crying obviously meant that she was extremely sad about the conversation we had just before she'd been seen by my mother.

And then the final memory crashed down upon me like a giant wave, crushing me beneath its weight.

_"The finding or telling of anyone or anything of the flicker will automatically allow the stranger to live on the surface..." _

"If six people were to ever find out, it would only take one more flickering situation..."

That made six.

Hiro.

Mother.

Duncan.

Tomoyo.

Kero.

And me.

Oh God. It was happening.

**_xxxxxx_**

**Sakura -**

A pain like none other shot through my entire body. I made a choking noise as I grasped my stomach with one hand, the other hand clutching my heart. I sank down onto my knees, my eyes closed together so tightly that it only added to the tremendous amount of pain I was already in.

My breathing came out short and raspy. It felt like there was a thunder storm going on inside of me, when really, it was happening around us. At least, that's what I had last seen. Like before, like the very first time I'd been cursed with the flicker, everything was black and empty. The only things that could be seen were Syaoran and I.

And then I remembered…Syaoran.

"Sakura!" He panted, sprinting towards me. He placed both hands on my shoulder, attempting to help me up. I only collapsed onto his lap, as he began to shake my now limp body. "Sakura, stay with me. Sakura, keep focused on me!" He said in a panicked voice. The fear was visible in his eyes. I wondered if it was in mine, too.

I let out a long breath. My breathing was no longer quick. It was hard to tell if I was even breathing at all. It certainly didn't seem like it. Was I dying? I tried not to think about this. I only tried to keep Syaoran's voice in my head, and follow his instructions. Only stay focused on him. Just keep staring into his amber eyes…

"Syaoran…" I whispered, the strength leaving my body.

He replied by saying my name. Gently, he set me down onto the ground, examining my body. He and I both knew what was happening. It was obvious to see that everything was about to change, and not for the better, but for the most definite worse. There was nothing anybody could do now.

I tried to warn him. I tried to stay away from him, as much as I could. But I gave in to the temptations. I started to _feel_ whenever I was near him, something I knew I could never do if I wanted to keep my loved ones and everyone else on the planet safe. But I could not help myself. I started to laugh, cry, and smile – and actually mean it. And even though he is the reason why I began to show my emotions, I do not blame him. I could never blame him.

I'm just glad that I got to kiss him one last time before I disappeared…

"Sakura!" He screamed loudly, staring at my body with the most worried pair of eyes I'd ever seen. I knew what was happening, but I did not try to console him. I didn't bother telling him that everything would be alright, because I didn't want to lie – I knew that it wouldn't be. "Sakura! Don't, don't flicker, please…"

I felt as light as a feather. My head rolled to one side as everything inside of me just started to grow fainter and fainter.

I then heard a startled gasp. Syaoran stumbled backwards, struggling to get to his feet. He looked down at my flickering body, astonished. Something inside of me began to squirm. I was no longer myself, I was – I don't know what I was. All I knew was that the minute I closed my eyes, I felt as though I was falling faster and further down a bottomless hole.

**_xxxxxx_**

**Syaoran -**

I jumped up to my feet with a lot of effort. The weight that was on my shoulders seemed so heavy at that moment that it actually weighed me down. Not to mention, the current situation with Sakura's body was really starting to creep me the _fuck_ out. It was like history was repeating itself! If you don't understand, let me explain.

A look alike version of Sakura – a twin, basically – someone with the same features as her, the same auburn brown hair, the same emerald green eyes, the same figure, same clothes – frigging _got up_ and _walked_ out of the limp Sakura's body! Two Sakura's were right before my very eyes!

One Sakura, the real Sakura, lying limp on the ground with her head rolled to one side.

Then there was the fake Sakura, stretching as though she'd just got up from a nap, smiling so wickedly that her grin alone made me want to pee my pants. I didn't know this Sakura at all! Sure, she may have had the same everything as the real Sakura, but nothing about her reminded me about the real one – nothing seemed familiar to me about her.

She was a complete Stranger.

**_xxxxxx_**

**Sakura –**

"S – Sakura?" I heard. The sound of Syaoran's voice snapped me out of my reverie. The falling sensation had left my body – in fact, each and every sensation that I had been feeling left my body. The only thing that could be felt now was the faintness of my head. I tried opening my eyes, to see what was happening.

I rolled my head back into position. I stared up at something before me. A blurry version of Syaoran's muscular figure stood a few feet away from me, as did…mine? Only then did it occur to me that the Stranger had finally been released. In just a few moments, I would be gone, never to be seen again.

"Hello!" The Stranger replied, in my own voice. Although, the tone she was using was one that I hadn't used since the seventh grade. It was high, cheerful, and happy. But why on earth would somebody as evil as the stranger sound so jubilant? I'm sure Syaoran was also confused.

"Y – You're…you're not Sakura…" I heard him say. I watched as he took a few careful steps away from her, so that he was now beside me, though still a good distance away. She bounced childishly towards him, a grin still plastered onto her look alike face. She giggled softly.

"Of course I am!" She said, turning her smile upside down into a pout which only toddlers used. "I look like her, don't I, Syaoran?"

"You're…you're a Stranger! You're not Sakura at all! Sakura is on the ground, suffering!" He yelled angrily, glaring at the Stranger so much that he could've burnt a whole through her clothes. He pointed a finger at my body, but did not look at it. Did he not notice that I was still flickering?

The Stranger continued to pout in a babyish kind of way. She folded her arms across her chest – something I normally did when upset – and stomped her foot, that, _not_ being a something I'd do. "That hurt my feelings!" She complained, ripping a necklace off of her neck. I heard the snapping of the chain.

I then realized with grief that the only difference between us in looks was that I was no longer wearing the magical necklace – it was in the Stranger's possession. Oh God.

"Key concealing the power of the stars," she recited, the necklace floating up into the air, my magical circle forming from beneath her, and a large gust of wind picking up around all of us. "Reveal thy true form before me! By our contract, I, Sakura, command you!" An evil glimmer appeared in her eyes just before screaming, "_Release!_"

In only a second, the key turned into the pink staff. I watched as the Stranger began to twirl it as though it were a baton, something I did whenever I had done that. She kept glancing over at Syaoran to see if he was watching.

"Did you like it?" She asked him in a sweet voice.

Syaoran paused before answering. "No."

The Stranger took on a face which made it look as though she had been physically hurt. "But why not?"

"Because," Syaoran replied angrily, walking over to me and kneeling down. He stared at me and gasped. He only realized then at that moment that I was still flickering. He placed his hand on my slowly beating heart and warmth spread through my entire body. I heard him suck in a shaky breath.

He turned to glare at the Stranger. "Because," he continued, "Sakura is flickering. Just a few more minutes and she'll be gone forever. And that can't happen. I won't _let_ it happen." He declared forcefully. The hurt expression on the Stranger's face never left from her.

"Do you like her more than me?" She asked stupidly.

Syaoran, I expect, had been very angry at the moment. I was still in grave danger, making him extremely impatient to save me. So he really didn't have time for the Stranger. Which was probably why his answer sounded like this, "Of course you idiot, what did you expect? You're frigging evil and you only came out of her body not even five minutes ago."

"But _why?_" She shrieked, stomping her foot harder than before. She crossed her arms tighter over her chest and crumpled her face, "We're both the same! Why don't you like me?" This Stranger was so childish that it surprised me.

Syaoran sighed angrily and ran a hand through his hair. He stood up and glowered at the Stranger. "Do you fucking want me to repeat myself? You're evil! You're nothing close to Sakura. She's beautiful and charming and exactly the opposite of you. You're not the same at all."

His words touched my slowly beating heart.

"That wasn't nice," she stated underneath her breath. She didn't seem cheerful anymore.

"Yeah, well, thanks for stating the obvious." Syaoran replied, no longer paying any attention to her. He bent down to listen to my heartbeat. I thought it was stupid of him. Just because the Stranger didn't seem like a threat, didn't mean that she wasn't. He shouldn't have let his guard down.

"Meaney!" She shrieked, taking a swing at him. He moved just in time, the staff missing me by only an inch.

Everything that took place before my eyes was just a series of punch, kicks, stabs, and dodging. The flash of bright silver I saw registered in my mind as Syaoran's sword. The last time he'd taken it out was the time when I challenged him to a duel just like this. I couldn't help but think that the Stranger really was a lot like me.

"I want you to like me!" She screamed, trying hard to punch him. She missed, again, and ducked out of the way as he attempted to kick her in the stomach.

"I would never like you!" He yelled back, missing his target.

The whole fighting while talking thing actually kind of amused me. "But why?" She asked again for the hundredth time, "I remembered what it was like inside her body. I remember everything you said to her! You told her you loved her! Why don't you love _me_?"

"Because I love Sakura!" He shouted back.

Hearing those words made me want to do something. I tried futilely to get up and help him defeat the Stranger, but it was no use. I wasn't flickering anymore. I was disappearing. But I would not let it happen so quickly. I tried to fight it, but it was so difficult. I couldn't just fade from existence!

"I _am_ Sakura!" The Stranger cried.

"Stop," Syaoran said firmly, taking a stab at her, "saying that! You're nothing like her!"

The fighting waged on. I could do nothing but watch. I wanted to scream so badly, to help him defeat this demonic toddler wannabe! But I could not. I was left to watch as Syaoran risked everything for me, left to think about what would happen and what _was_ happening.

I did not understand why the Stranger had been so blunt about everything. The task given to her by Mikoro was simple: create chaos within this world, using the cards which were meant to obey me, and only me. But she was part of me, the only part of me that would exist. Because I was slowly fading, fading…

That's what I didn't understand, either. _That_ was her task. But the first thing she'd set her sights upon was Syaoran, and all she wanted to do was make him fall in love with her. She must've felt what it was like for him to say all those things to me. I guess she wanted to keep on feeling whatever she felt whenever he said those romantic, yet forceful things to me.

I gasped with whatever breath I had left. The Stranger had got him in a very uncomfortable head lock. He was fighting for air, struggling against the Stranger's ever powerful grip – it was much stronger than mine, I could tell. "Tell me you love me!" She screeched.

His face began turning purple, "No," he choked.

Roughly, she released him and pushed him onto the ground. The tiniest of tears could be seen, trapped in the corner of her eyes. She strutted over to me, fuming like a volcano. She got onto her knees and stared me down with a look that could kill. Whatever warmth I had left inside of me quickly drained.

"If," she began, using a tone of voice which was completely different from the previous one she used. This one was dark, gruff, and angry. Not cheery or happy at all. "I am to destroy the world…" she got up onto her feet and walked over to Syaoran, who was lying on his back, breathing hard.

"I'll destroy yours first." She muttered, glaring at the man who refused to love her.

"Power!" She screamed suddenly, throwing one of my beloved cards into the air. She thrust the staff into the air above her, and the effects of the Power Card were absorbed into it. If someone were to ever take a blow from the Power Card when it was within the staff, the results could be ugly. Really ugly.

She did exactly what I did not want her to do. Raising the staff high in the air, she brought it crashing down onto Syaoran's stomach. My shallow breath caught in my throat. _Move!_ I wanted to cry. _Get out of the way, Syaoran! Before it hits you!_

But he did not.

Syaoran was already so weak. He was already having trouble breathing because of the deadly head lock that he was just in. It was no wonder he couldn't move.

A single tear streamed down my cheek. "No!" I said, though I was not heard. The sound of my voice was nothing but the whisper of a flee.

Syaoran's body crumpled on the ground, grasping his stomach in pain. He was breathing hard again, completely winded. It took me a while to register that he was not badly injured. Yes, if he were to lift his shirt there would be an ugly purple bruise, but Syaoran's chest, from what I've seen, is rock solid. It couldn't have hurt him that badly.

"You made me do it, you know." The Stranger said, looking down upon him with pity. She made a clicking noise with her tongue. "But I am _really_ sorry."

I turned over on my side, staring into Syaoran's pained eyes. At least his amber eyes would be the very last things I would see. I wouldn't have it any other way. I just wished that the sadness inside of them were not so visible. It made me want to cry even more.

My thoughts were interrupted, when suddenly, the Stranger climbed on top of Syaoran, so that she was straddling him. A flash of anger shot through my body. If I had the strength, I would've glared at her, gotten up and pushed her off of him. What the fuck did she think she was doing?

"Now will you tell me you love me?" She asked, not as sweet like before, but still quite sugar coated. Syaoran did not reply. Angry, she took his head with both her hands and smashed it against the ground. The side of his head began to bleed slightly. Not a lot that he would die, but all the same, I didn't want him shedding any blood!

What made her think she could man handle him like that? The anger inside of me only continued to grow, which only increased my disappearing rate. But I couldn't help it. The faster she got off of him, the slower I'd start disappearing. That was only one of the reasons I wanted her off. Mainly it was because I was jealous as hell. Even though technically, she was still me.

"She'll be gone in just a few moments!" The Stranger explained, glancing at me. Syaoran turned his head, and caught my eye. Why wasn't he pushing her off? Surely he didn't like it! Of course he didn't. But this stranger was about fifty times stronger than me, so my guesses were that she was weighing him down like an anchor.

"I'll be the only thing left of her, so you might as well start loving me now."

Angered, he began to struggle. The Stranger began squirming on top of him, fighting to stay on top. "She won't disappear. She will never disappear! So there's no point in making me love you!" He paused to squirm beneath her tremendous weight, "She's the only one I'll ever love!"

Oh, Syaoran…

"Sakura!" He screamed, staring at me with pleading eyes. More tears continued to fall from eyes unwillingly. "You can fight this! You can't let this flickering take you away from me!"

The next few moments were filled with the sound of raspy breathing and shrieks of objection. The Stranger continued to push him down as he tried everything and anything to be freed from her. But it was no use. She was right. He might as well start loving her, because I won't be there for him to love.

"Why aren't you doing anything?" He demanded, "Sakura, the cards love you!" He screamed, struggling but still staring in my direction. It was no use, for God's sake! Why didn't he understand that? I knew he could see my skin, my figure – I was transparent! You could see right through me – just a few more seconds…

"The cards love you!" He screamed again, "Your guardians love you! Tomoyo, Eriol, my mom loves you! All four of my sisters! Sakura!" He said desperately, hanging on to nothing but false hope that I would regain my appearance and fight back. "Please Sakura, we all love you!"

He paused before he said anything else. "_I_ love you!"

My ears perked up and my eyes snapped open.

"You can't disappear on us!"

Oh Syaoran…I wish that would work. I wish that with the help of your words, I could overcome this and then everything would return to normal. But it would take more than that to get me back to my old self. No words could help me now. But it was nice to hear him say he loved me one last time.

"Syaoran…" I whispered, reaching out to him with a transparent hand. "I…I love…"

I was never able to finish my sentence. My eyes just simply closed, and my hand fell limp. The last thing I remember before everything around me turned black was hearing Syaoran whimper. I then felt this falling sensation like I had felt just moments before. The only thing that could be heard was the wind in my ears.

But then there was something else…something else…I didn't know what it was. At first, it was nothing but a blur of words. Just a bunch of gibberish strung together to sound like a fast forwarded kind of version of Alvin and the Chipmunks singing a Christmas song. But then it started becoming clearer and clearer…

Someone was screaming. No, not screaming…_trying_ to scream. Whoever it was could not, because something…something was on top of their mouth. But…what?

The first thing that came to mind was something horrible. My eyes automatically opened and I was greeted with the most disgruntling scene ever. My thoughts were confirmed, and once again, I was filled with the strongest feelings of disgust, hate, anger and most importantly, jealousy.

That stupid bitch Stranger was locking lips with Syaoran! _My Syaoran!_

I don't know what came over me. But somehow, the emotions of which I was forbidden to feel fueled me to stand up. My fists unknowingly clenched together, and I could feel a strong heat gather in my cheeks. I was even turning red! Oh, this Stranger bitch had something coming to her.

She was so busy swapping saliva with Syaoran that she didn't even notice me. It was only when I slammed my right first into the palm of my left hand, making a smacking noise, did she look up at me. She was surprised at first, to see that I was back. I was supposed to have disappeared, which I did. But I came back to protect _my_ Syaoran from look alike versions of me that kissed him like they were the one he was in love with – which they weren't!

She smirked, getting up from him. Syaoran immediately wiped his lips, looking like he wanted to vomit. He then stared up at me, a mix of happiness and shock shown on his face. I ignored him, for at the moment, I had a little something to take care of, and by God would I take care of it.

"Keep," I said, taking a step towards her, "your nasty lips off of his."

With that smirk still plastered on her face, she chuckled, as if I was no threat to her. Lot of hell she knew. "And if I don't?" She challenged.

I made that same gesture – I slammed my right hand into the palm of my left hand – and said, "You'll have hell to pay."

Chuckling once more, she took a step of her own towards me. I did not let the wickedness I could feel from her unnerve me. Instead, I stood my ground, my confidence and jealousy blazing. "I kissed him just now, didn't I?" She asked, walking around me. My eyes followed her. "Make your move, Card Mistress."

"I don't think you want me to do that," I stated.

"By all means," she said, "I'm prepared." She raised my staff.

Smirking myself, I raised my arm and opened my palm. My staff went flying from her possession into mine, my grip tightening around it. I then outstretched my other arm, my palm waiting. From out of her pocket flew all of my cards, placing themselves neatly one on top of the other.

"Still prepared?" I asked.

Though she looked a little startled, she shook it off and regained her normal looking face. Getting into a fighting stance, she replied, "Of course."

Sprinting with the new found strength of a rhinoceros, I crashed into her stomach, head first. I felt a slight bit of pain from my head – her body felt like steel. But I still managed to get on top of her. Staff still in hand, I began to punch her, bloodying her nose pretty badly. She caught my fist and twisted it. I screamed out in pain.

I realized I wasn't flickering. I was fighting it. And all thanks to Syaoran.

Shoving me off of her, she kicked me in the stomach. The blow was pretty hard. I was forced down onto the ground; my butt aching like there was no tomorrow. I rolled over just in time as she brought her heel down onto my face. It landed right next to my cheek, scaring me for just a few seconds.

I was feeling so many emotions, all at the same time! Jealousy, anger, fear, and adrenaline! And I wasn't flickering at all. It felt good. It felt frigging _awesome_! Happiness was only another thing to add to the things I was feeling. This only fueled me to continue fighting.

Swiping the ground, I knocked the Stranger bitch over. Her nose stopped bleeding, but her cheeks and shirt were stained a deep shade of red. Too busy applauding myself with the great work I'd just done; I failed to notice her fist flying towards my upper lip. I moved, just in time, but I still got punched on my cheek.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" She asked.

I placed my hand on my cheek and winced slightly. I knew it was starting to turn just a little blue. It really didn't hurt that much, though. "Yeah. It does." I replied, "But it beats disappearing!"

We continued to fight, both of us growing weaker by the moment. The only kind of tire I felt came physically, but not emotionally. Emotionally, I was on fire. I was finally feeling freely for the first time in so many years! It felt freaking great! I didn't mind going on like this for just a few more minutes.

"Sakura…" I heard Syaoran say to me as we fought.

I didn't look at him, not wanting to take my eyes off of my opponent, "Not now, Syaoran." I replied.

"But Sakura, you're – "

"Back? I know. We'll talk later." I dodged yet another blow quickly, before turning to him and winking, "I promise."

"No!" The Stranger said, as we blocked and dodged, "You won't!"

"Like you're going to stop me?" I countered.

"Why?" She asked again, sounding as whiney as ever, "Why does he love you and not me?"

Frustrated, angry and jealous because of the fact that she wanted Syaoran to love her so badly, I got on top of her and held her there. "You want to know why I he doesn't love you?" I asked harshly. She nodded, struggling against me, "Do you really?" I asked again.

"Yes!" She replied.

"It's because you're nothing like me!" I answered, "You are _nothing_ like me for the last time, don't you understand? He still fell in love with me even though I had you inside of me. Even though I was sarcastic and mean and cold – nothing like how I was before." The Stranger stopped struggling as she listened to my explanation.

I turned to Syaoran, whose eyes were loving and affectionate. I continued to speak, "I know that if I was still my old self, he'd fall in love with me anyway. No matter what kind of state I'm in, he'll still love me…because for some reason, I'm always familiar to him, like he's familiar to me."

"He knows every strand of hair on my head. He recognizes my scent when it's a mile away. My eyes are what he looks at when he needs to feel assurance or happiness or whatever…and…it's vice versa." I didn't realize how soft my voice had grown. It then turned angry when I began to speak to the Stranger once more.

"But you're evil. Syaoran _knows_ me. He knows that I'm a good person. Even though sometimes I may not act like it, he knows that the good in me will come through, like it has now." Tears formed once more in the corner of her look alike emerald eyes. "But you're evil." I repeated again.

"You're evil. And that's what makes us so different. That's why Syaoran doesn't love you."

Her face turned red. With a shriek which could've deafened us both, she pushed me off of her. Her breathing became raspy as if she'd just spent a year under water. Tears were clinging onto her eyelashes. "I want to be loved!" She screamed, stomping her foot like a baby once more.

I actually began to pity her. "You can be loved, too…"

"But I want to be loved by him!" She said, pointing a finger at Syaoran.

Cue the jealousy. "You can't!" I snapped. "Why so picky anyway?"

Wiping the tears from her eyes she explained. "Are you completely incompetent, Sakura? Inside of you, I could hear, feel, and sense everything that you did with or to Syaoran. Even those kisses. Are you really that stupid to not know how much he loves you?" She asked.

I had no idea how to reply. Syaoran blushed.

"Even with everyone else…with Tomoyo and Eriol and _everyone else_…he was right. They all love you. But not as much as he loves you, Sakura…" she sniffled, "and I want to be loved like that! By him! Because you and I both know we both feel the same way for him!"

Honestly? She was right.

"If you and I both apparently feel the same about Syaoran…" I said, looking at him. A hint of a smile was visible on his face. "Why don't you come back inside of me? You can be good. I know you can. Just behave, I guess. As long as we can both still feel our emotions. And the flickering will stop."

She shook her head. "No!" She screamed. "No! I'm not sharing him!"

"Who said anything about sharing?" I asked, my temper rising. "You're part of me, anyway, aren't you? What difference does it make?"

Before answering, that same evil glimmer appeared in her eyes and a wicked smile spread across her cheeks. "I'm evil, remember?"

Unexpectedly, she sprinted at me and seized my throat. Her hand closed tightly around it, depriving me of all ability to breathe. Syaoran from the sidelines quickly ran over to try and help me but all she did was stick out an arm, as if to stop him, and he immediately stopped, as if held back by invisible strings.

"I…I…" he said, "Sakura, I can't move! I can't…I can't…"

Both my hands found their way on top of her own hand which was single handedly killing me. I sank to my knees, her coming down along with me. I was feeling that falling sensation again. For the third time that night, I felt like I was falling, and everything was turning black.

My eyes scanned the area for Syaoran. I found him standing, immobilized. He was thrashing about, trying to break free from the imaginary bonds which held him back. But with no avail. "Sakura!" I heard him scream. But his voice seemed so muffled, so far away…

"Sakura!" He screamed again. His voice became thick and dark. My hearing became horrible. And soon, everything was muted. I could hear nothing. It was like I was in a silent movie, except the quality was horrible. Syaoran became blurry, something that I could hardly make out.

I focused on his face. And slowly, his mouth formed the words, "I love you."

Unlike last time, his words helped me.

I felt the strength return in my fingers as I dug my nails deep into her hand. She screamed, seeing the blood leak out from the marks I'd made. For a second, just a single second, she stepped back in reflex. I took my chance; within that second, I kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying backwards. The spell was lifted from Syaoran.

He ran over to me, asking me over and over again if I was okay. I did not reply. I only walked over to the Stranger, the look alike version of me, with an angry look on my face. The only reason behind my quick and raspy breathing was because I was angry, not because I had just been recently choked.

"You bitch." I said.

"I'll come back inside of you. I'll make sure you never feel again." She replied.

I tightened my hold on my staff. "No you won't!" I screamed.

I took out the card which I knew could obliterate the Stranger from my life forever. Just like the way this card had taken care of Mikoro in the final battle for my cards.

I flipped it in the air. "I, will no longer be your prisoner!" I screamed. "Light!"

With an almighty cry, I put the card into affect. Just like before, the Light Card illuminated the once dark place. I shut my eyes, not able to take the strain of the light. There was a piercing scream, so high and sharp that my ears started popping. Opening a single eye, I saw that there was nothing left in front of me but a pile of sand.

Silence filled my ears…was it all over now? Syaoran's face was the first thing that came to mind and I knew that everything was going to be alright. He and I both fought of the dragon together, and it was possible that we could still have a happy ending…just so long as Prince Charming got to be with his Sleeping Beauty.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran –**

Sakura stood with her back turned to me a few feet away. I was so intent on staring at the back of her auburn head that I almost failed to notice, that as the light faded, our surroundings became as how they were before. The cupid fountain was back, spurting water from both the tip of the arrow and the mouth of the son of Venus. To my complete and utter happiness, Sakura didn't just disappear out of no where. She was still with me, and she wasn't going anywhere. I knew that now.

Slowly, she turned around to face me. Her staff fell from her hand onto the still rain stained cement. It made a clattering type of noise, and as we were the only ones present, it echoed throughout the entire campus. A slow, teary smile spread across her face. She sniffled, crinkling up her nose, which I always thought was so adorable.

As her eyes filled up with tears, she finally said the words that I'd been so longing to hear. "I love you." She said. It was as if the entire place had lit up again, because of the sudden smile that appeared on my cheeks. "I wanted you to know so badly. And now you do. I love you, Syaoran. So much!"

"I know you do, Sakura," I said quietly. "I love you too."

Ever seen those corny as ever movies that take place on sandy beaches? The plot is always something that goes like this: boy falls in love with girl, but for some weird reason they're never able to see each other again until another whatever number years or so. Boy hears of girl's arrival at his current residence, and everything seems to be perfect, because he'll be seeing her again.

And, though this was never planned, boy and girl see each other – where? – on a sandy beach, from far away. In slow motion, with sappy music playing in the background, they run towards each other, because of course, this is the first time they'd seen each other in whatever number years.

And that's what it felt like for me and Sakura. Like we were these "estranged" lovers, who hadn't seen each other in the longest time. _That's_ what it felt like, running towards her, embracing her with the tightest hug I'd ever given, and kissing her with the most passion I'd ever felt.

I wished I could always feel like this.

_**xxxxxx**_

_Once upon a time, in a dorm room far, far away, there lived a young woman and a charming young prince. It was just until recently that the two discovered and confessed their love for one another, but already, because it was also until recently that the young lady began to feel again, they were cuddling and kissing showing personal display of affection just a little too much…_

"Syaoran!" Sakura screamed, impatient, yet totally smitten about her boyfriend's actions. She tried again and again to get his arms off of her, but with no avail. "I have to get to Tomoyo's dorm. If I'm not there in ten minutes, I'll be dead, and all because of you!" She said to him.

"Oh, Tomoyo can wait." Syaoran whispered against her ear. Sakura giggled.

"No, she can't!" She explained, kissing him lightly on the cheek before he released her from his "evil" clutches. "Didn't I already tell you? If I'm not there to try on her latest creation she'll have my head for it. Literally." Sakura was already putting on her jacket and almost out the door.

"Sakur_a_!" Syaoran whined, standing up. As his girlfriend grabbed her purse, he sneakily slinked his arm tightly around her waist once more. He pulled her towards his chest and planted a wet one on her cheek. She pretended to act disgusted and wiped it off. "Please come back to bed?"

Sakura sighed. "Why? So I can sleep for another century?"

He smirked. "In my arms? I wouldn't mind. Besides, you know you're my Sleeping Beauty."

Sakura almost lost herself. Just the simple thought of being with Syaoran, the love of her life, forced the tiny hairs on her neck to stand right on end. She loved him, and everything about him. She was absolutely jubilant that she could finally let him know so. In fact, if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be standing in the doorway that very moment.

"Sakura?" Syaoran asked, shaking her gently, "Still with me?"

She smiled and rested her head against his chest. "Always." She answered. She soaked in the sound of his rich chuckle.

"Not exactly the answer to the question I was asking, but it's always good to know." They stayed in that position for just a few more moments, with his nose buried in her auburn hair, taking in every bit of his girlfriend's wonderful smell of cherry blossoms. It always made him feel so dazed.

Just until a few weeks ago, it seemed like they were the farthest thing from a couple. All they did for one entire afternoon was argue and argue. But then again, later in that fateful day, he saved her life, thinking that the woman of his dreams would disappear – literally. But she didn't. She was there to stay. For good.

Bringing his lips to the edge of her ear, he whispered, "I love you."

She closed her eyes as she replied, "I love you too."

Turning around in his arms so that she was facing him, she placed her lips ever so gently and softly on top of his. They broke apart and stared into the other's eyes. Sakura giggled, removing herself from him. His smile turned into a frown as he watched her make her way down the hall.

"I'll be back soon, I promise." Sakura said.

He crossed his arms, pretending to be hurt. "You'd better be." Was all he said. Out of pure humor, he raised his arm in goodbye and said, "Don't be a stranger."

Sakura stopped in her tracks, gave him a sarcastic glare and said, "Very funny, smarty pants."

_And they lived happily ever after…_

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**The End.**

**Thank you to anyone and everyone who supported this story in any way, shape, or form. I'm so glad that many of you enjoyed reading it, and I hope that you are able to do the same with my other stories!**

**Hopeful Advertising: After a short break, I will be making a new story. It shall be called **'Saving Syaoran.' **It is SyaoranxSakura of course! Here's the summary:**

**Saving Syaoran:** He was sent to Japan for one reason only. To take the cards which were rightfully his. But it was not supposed to be like this. He was not supposed to fall in love. SS! RR! Flames will do!

**Thank you all again. I truly appreciate all of your support!**

Signing Off,  
Agent08 – _My life as a secret agent_ xD


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